The Life and Times of LW: Volume One
by AMCwrites
Summary: "We must take care of our families, wherever we find them." ― Elizabeth Gilbert We can't always anticipate the events will change the course of our lives. When a surprise delivery is left on the back doorstep of their home, one family is forever changed.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I thought that I would try my hand at writing in this new year. I've had this idea rattling around in my head for years, and I've always wanted to see a wizarding world that reflected what I imagined in my head when I first read the books. These first chapters are meant to be mysterious and a little vague, but stick with me and all will be revealed by chapter 4. Thanks for taking the time to read this!_

_\- AMC_

_P.s. J.K. owns HP. I do not._

* * *

_August 30, 1982_

Crouched high on a balcony in the middle of the Alley, he watched and waited. The specifications of his assignment were quite clear and concise. Find a family with two parents and at least one other child. He had seen many families that fit the description but none of them felt quite_ right_.

His eyes darted from person to person, quickly assessing and constantly moving never settling on one person for more than a few seconds.

He took an uneasy look to his left when there was movement in the basket next to him.

_Merlin, help me_. He thought. _I'm running out of time_.

The search had lasted longer than he anticipated and it was beginning to wear on his nerves.

He continued his vigil with renewed earnest. He had to find what he was looking for, he didn't want to think about the consequences if he didn't.

It wasn't more than five minutes later that they came shuffling up the lane, piquing his interest. She had a babe on her hip, a young one's hand clutched in her fist and an older one trailing behind her.

He watched as they passed underneath him and continued up the lane before disappearing into the second-hand robe shop. Narrowed eyes assessed the doorway to the store for a few moments before continuing to survey the street. He would keep an eye on them. No more than twenty minutes later, the family was back, carefully navigating their down through the Alley. Blissfully unaware that they were being watched.

They stopped at Fortescue's ice cream parlor. Directly next to where the man was posted. He silently thanked his handy talent with a disillusionment charm, as the family came out of the shop. Ice creams in hand the family made their way towards the Leaky Cauldron and the man knew his time was of the essence. He quickly gathered up the basket and stood twisting on the spot, appearing an instant later in an alcove just outside of the Leaky. He glanced back towards the street and he could just barely see the family jostling through the crowd in his direction.

"Good. Need to get set up."

The man hefted the basket over his shoulder and made his way into the pub.

He silently waved his wand at the basket and it became lighter than a feather an instant later. For good measure, he also muttered a quiet 'Silencio' over the basket.

Sat near the fireplace the man pretended to read the paper as he listened to the family floo away from Diagon Alley. In a panic, because he didn't know where 'The Burrow' could possibly be, he sent a charm over his shoulder. Hitting the woman's foot as she stepped into the fireplace.

"Persona Vestigium" were the whispered words.

His wand began spinning in his open palm and a few seconds later the word Devon glowed from the tip of his wand. Devon he knew, he would track them from there.

Three days later a Bloodhound sat next to a basket, eyes trained on the house just over the field. He watched as the family took off from the house after shepherding their children into a car.

_Yes._ He mused. _This family will do nicely._

The man waited until nightfall. He wanted the people to have as much incentive as possible to accept his...delivery. As soon as the lights were glowing from the house windows he made his move. Where a bloodhound sat a man now stood. Picking up the basket, he used the dark of the night to cover his tracks, not that he needed to worry. They called him the Shadow for a reason.

Placing the basket on the porch he removed the enchantments from it. Smiling slightly he walked away. When he reached the road he sent his Patronus into the house. Silently he watched the door open. After spending two weeks with the thing he was almost going to miss it. But no matter, he didn't get paid to form attachments to his assignments.

With the sound of new galleons in his pocket, the man turned and disapparated into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

_September 1, 1982_

Molly Weasley was ready for a relaxing evening. Somehow, someway, her six children were all in bed at a decent hour. She suspected it had something to do with the exciting journey to drop her oldest off at Kings Cross that morning. Whatever the reason, Molly was looking forward to a quiet night spent in the company of her husband. She wondered if they still had any more of that elvish wine that was gifted to them a few months ago. She almost dropped the half-full bottle when an indistinct canine Patronus appeared in front of her.

"Back Door." Was all it said before dissolving.

Keeping her wand handy, Molly set out in search of her husband. The war was now a year past, but that didn't mean that all the danger was over. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Arthur,"

Molly found him sitting in his chair reading a book by the firelight.

"Molly," His eyes were twinkling as he looked at her, "Why are you whispering?"

She shot a furtive glance towards the kitchen

"There was a Patronus, it said to check the back door."

Arthur's eyes hardened as he drew his wand.

"Stay behind me."

Arthur moved with purpose towards the back door. He had never known a Death Eater to send a Patronus, but he wasn't taking any chances. Raising his wand he flicked the door opened and prepared to protect his family. A gasp came from behind him.

"Oh Arthur, look!"

Sat just outside the door in a basket was a child.

"Don't touch, Molly. We don't know if it's cursed or not."

Arthur began running some diagnostic spell work as Molly took a closer look at the child. It couldn't have been any more than a year old if that. The babe looked quite small buried among the blankets in the basket.

"Arthur, anything?"

They needed to get this baby off the porch and into the house before it got sick.

"Nothing."

Arthur was confused, to say the least, who would leave their child on a stranger's porch? And moreover, just how did they find their way to the Burrow? The village had plenty of houses that were much more accessible.

Molly brushed past him with the basket in her hands. Her motherly instincts were kicking in and this baby needed to be cared for, at least until they could locate its parents.

Arthur trailed after his wife into the kitchen still scratching his head in confusion.

"What do we do, Molly?"

Molly was already waving her wand at the dishes and having them prepare themselves for a bottle.

"First, a nappy change is in order. Then the Ministry in the morning I think."

Arthur blew out a breath, sagging down into a chair. Nervous, he watched the way Molly cooed over the baby with a familiar look in her eye.

"Yes, I think the Ministry would be best."

* * *

_AN: Y'all still hanging in there with me? I know I'm slow to reveal information, but I'm just having too much fun writing it this way! Bear with me, lol!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! I only came for the reads and the reviews! __* I __sing in my best Trey Songz voice* _


	3. Chapter 3

_September 2, 1982_

Footsteps echoed across the atrium as Arthur Weasley hurried to his destination. It was quite a curious sight to the casual observer. The man was practically running through the nearly empty space. Worn robes billowing behind him and what appeared to be a bundle of blankets clutched to his chest.

Arthur had left at almost the break of dawn. He and Molly had agreed that this was a matter that was better-taken care of soon and without the knowledge of their children. More than that, he needed to get to the Welfare of Magical Children's office before they set out for the day.

"Level 2: Department of Magical Law Enforcement" the cool lift voice rang out. Arthur sped past his own office and slid to a halt in front of the door he was seeking.

Pushing the door open with his shoulder he came to a stop at the desk of a rather weathered looking older witch.

Alva Eaglet wore huge round glasses that made her watery grey eyes look particularly large. She blinked up at Arthur as a tear fell from her eye.

"Weasley. Isn't it?" She moved a handkerchief to her face with a wrinkled hand

"Yes, Arthur. Arthur Weasley." Arthur felt rather nervous, there was something about her gaze that was distinctly unsettling.

"You see, I was wondering if you might be able to help me with an... er... problem."

As if the baby understood that it was the problem in question it began to squirm and fuss in Arthur's arms. Alva's steady gaze locked into the baby that Arthur was soothing.

"That is not one of yours I reckon, Mr. Weasley."

"No you see and that's the problem." His voice bouncing a bit.

It took ten minutes to explain the strange happenings of the previous night. By the end of the tale, Alva was endeavoring to climb off of her chair.

"Oh dear, that is a problem. You better follow me."

Madame Eaglet was shorter and much more hunched than Arthur expected. However, her size did not seem to affect her speed as she shuffled away.

"Come on! This way."

She led him through the empty office to door at the back of the room.

As she stuck her wand into the keyhole and lead him into the backroom she mindlessly chattered away.

"Everyone has already left for the day, picked up their welfare assignments already, they did. I have to say I'm quite glad you came in today young man."

Arthur shifted the baby in his arms

"Why is that?"

Alva looked up at him with a crooked grin

"I'm too old to go out on calls, and almost nothing entertaining ever happens at the desk." She let out a throaty laugh

"I'll have the best story at lunch for sure now!"

Paying no attention to Arthur's wary look, she directed him to place the baby silver table in the middle of the room. However, when he placed the baby on the cool metal ear-piercing cries rang out.

"Oh no, that won't do. Go ahead and hold em' the spell works better if they're calm."

"What spell is that, exactly?"

"Parentage spell Weasley."

She brought the tip her wand to the baby's finger and came away with some blood.

She continued to babble as Arthur bounced the crying child.

"The first step to finding this child's parents is to know if it is a magical child or not."

She began to wave her wand in a complicated pattern

"We don't do this often, you know? Too many people are obsessed with blood and don't understand how it works. It's easy to misinterpret. See look."

In front of her, a series of cords had appeared. Two of the cords were thick and gold. They looked to almost be moving back and forth. The third was a thin purple cord, much smaller than the other two.

"Ah-Ha! See those gold ones there? That means two magical parents. Now look closely at that one in the middle."

Arthur looked as closely as he could with a squirming child in his arms

"See the faint gold winding through it? That means they have the potential to be magical."

Arthur could see very faint gold lines encased in the purple when he looked hard enough.

"So, Madame Eaglet, what does this mean?"

Alva waved her wand and the cords disappeared. She beckoned him to follow her out of the room.

"It means this child is under our jurisdiction. It means we can look and see if we have any reports of missing children."

"So you can find the parents?"

Alva stopped so abruptly that Arthur nearly ran into her. Turning to peer up at him she fixed him with a calculating stare.

"Unfortunately Mr. Weasley there is no guarantee that we can find the parents or parent for that matter. We will certainly try, but we make no promises."

Arthur felt unsettled, he never considered the fact that they may never find this child's parents. He assumed they would be frantically looking. He would if it were his child that was missing.

"So then what will happen to the baby if you don't find the parents?" He almost did not want to hear the answer.

"Well..." Alva was back in her chair filling out a form

"I suspect the child will stay at the lost children's home,"

"But the children's home is an-" Arthur sputtered

"An orphanage, that is correct. But not to worry Weasley the child will have all of its basic needs met. It will be safe and secure at the Home. "

"Right then," she motioned towards the form, "if you will sign here I will take the child off your hands."

Arthur looked at the offered quill and then at the baby in his arms.

He gazed at the wide brown eyes looking back at him and felt his heart melt a little.

"Is there... is there any way we could keep the child. Just until you find the parents?"

The crooked grin made its way back onto Alvas face.

"I'm sure that could be arranged."

Arthur made is way back across the atrium at a much slower pace than he had earlier that morning. He supposed it would be a surprise to show up at The Burrow with the baby. But what could he do, let the child stay in an orphanage where only it's basic needs will be met? No, not when he had a home full of love and family for a child to stay in.

The baby would just have to stay with them until they found it's parents. He was sure Molly would agree.

That afternoon the parents Weasley gathered their children around the scuffed kitchen table. And told them the tale of the last twelve hours.

"So, we're gonna keep it?" The 8-year-old Charlie asked

Each of the children, well the ones that were old enough to understand what was going on, were looking at the baby in Molly's arms curiously

"Just until the parents are found," Arthur assured them

"But what if they never find them?"

That was a question that his parents were not keen to address at the minute.

"We'll cross that bridge if we get to it." Molly nodded to Arthur

"So is it a boy or a girl? And what do we call it?"

They could always trust the ever precocious Percy to ask smart questions, even though he was only six.

"It's a girl, Perce. As for a name..."

"Oh, Arthur! I found this in the basket this morning." Molly handed a tag to Arthur

It only had one word on it.

"Loleta. Her name is Loleta."

* * *

_AN: Ahhhhhh! I'm quite excited about this one. Loleta has been revealed! More details to come about her, the next few chapters are rich with information. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, I hope you are all enjoying!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Hey there! This chapter establishes more about Lola and her relationship with the Weasleys. I know there is a lot of Charlie, but I've always thought that the lack of Charlie in the books was a shame! As always, let me know what you think and thank you for taking the time to read this!_

_P.S. For those who read the previous version of this chapter, I realized that I had to change Lola's birthday so that she could be in the same year as Ginny but also be chronologically the youngest. Because that is IMPORTANT to the plot, lol. My bad for getting that wrong in the first place._

* * *

The visits started out regularly. Every week Arthur would pop his head into the Welfare office just to see if any progress had been made. Every week the answer was the same. No missing children had been reported and no one seemed to be on the lookout for a lost child. Every other week one of the witches or wizards from the Welfare office would floo over to The Burrow just to check on the child and see how she was faring.

Three months after that fateful night, the Welfare workers stopped coming. Six months after that fateful night Arthur Weasley stopped popping into the office.

Twelve months after that night, little Loleta, or Lola as Charlie had taken to calling her, was a full-fledged member of the Weasley family. Almost.

Molly herself was quite pleased with the turn that her life had taken. If you had told her four years ago that she would be blessed with not one but two little girls to care for, she would have thought you'd gone mad. But alas, here she was and she wouldn't change it for the world.

The Weasley boys had accepted the new baby immediately. Ginny and Lola bonded so quickly, one almost couldn't tell they were not twins. Almost.

"I mean, what's one more kid?" Bill had said when he met Lola for the first time at Christmas

The boys had a particularly good time helping to pick out Lola's new birthday.

"Now we don't know when she was born exactly" Arthur related to the children, "But we do know that she was born in the same year as Ginny."

"So we just need to pick a date?" Percy asked

Molly nodded from her post at the head of the table.

"Well," Percy continued, "Why not give her the same birthday as Ginny then? Then they'll really be like twins."

In the end, in an effort to be fair to Ginny was not yet old enough to have an opinion, the date that was decided on was August thirty-first.

And so it was that Lola charmed her way it to the hearts of the Weasley family, and firmly established herself as a member. Almost.

* * *

Lola was confused, and she did not like being confused. Not at all.

"What do you mean?" she questioned the boy in front of her

"Well if you're saying that _they_," he pointed over to the group of redheads playing on the swings "Are your siblings than you _must_ be barmy. Everyone knows that families look like each other, and _you_ don't look anything like _them_."

Warm tingles were making their way up her arms with every word the boy spoke. Then it happened in the blink of an eye, suddenly the older boy was no longer standing over her, but hanging over her suspended from a tree branch.

"You - you don't know what you're talking about!" She shouted slinging her arm out to point at the upside-down boy whose head was quickly becoming a rather interesting shade of puce. "And don't call me BARMY!"

Charlie, who had heard the raised voices, quickly hurried over to his irate little sister. He pulled the boy down off the tree and he stumbled away as fast as he could, muttering about crazy little girls and magic trees.

Turning around Charlie took in the sight of the little spitfire, her fists were clenched at her side, her eyes narrowed and she was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Scooping her onto his back, he called for his other siblings.

"Come on you lot! It's about time we start back anyway,"

Under the watchful eye of their older brothers, the Weasley siblings began to make their way back to The Burrow from the village of Ottery St. Catchpole.

"Ok LoLo, you wanna tell me what happened back there?"

Lolas' fists tightened in his shirt.

"He... he said that I'm not like you... That you couldn't be my family because we don't look the same."

"Nonsense, Lo, we don't have to look the same to be family. You know that."

She was silent behind him.

"You know that, right Lola?" He pressed

"Yes, but-." She fell quiet for a few moments, "Why do I have to look different? Why can't I look the same as you?"

Charlie hitched her higher on his back at a loss for words. Sharing a look with Bill, who was carrying a sleeping Ginny, they resolved that it was high time for their parents to explain to Lola just why she was so different.

* * *

"She suspended him from a tree?" Arthur asked. Attempting, albeit poorly, to mask the pride in his voice.

"Yep. A fair bit of accidental magic, and he deserved it if you ask me." Charlie said with a shrug

The older boys had gathered their parents in the kitchen before dinner, relating to them what had happened at the park.

"I think it's time you guys explain to her why she's different and what that means."

"Yeah," Piped in Bill from his seat at the kitchen table, "The other day she asked me when her hair was going to turn red. When I said that I didn't think it ever would, she asked if I could charm it that way, so she can look like us."

Molly shot an uneasy glance at Arthur

"Thank you, boys, for telling us...you're right." She twisted the tea towel tighter in her hands "She's four now and well- we'll have a chat with her after dinner."

* * *

When the other children were put to bed, with much grumbling mind you, Molly and Arthur cuddled Lola between them on the couch.

"Now, Lola dear-" Molly began

"I'm sorry Mum!" Lola cut across, "I didn't mean to! I promise I didn't! I was just..."

"Upset?" Arthur supplemented

Lola nodded, the little girls' big brown eyes were glossy with tears that had not fallen

"Never you mind now. We're not mad about that."

"The boy, he said you were different than your brothers and sister right?"

The little girl nodded eyes still wide.

"We know that you've noticed that you look different from us, and we thought it was time to explain."

Taking a deep breath Molly began the tale of the night they found her, simplifying it down in a way that a four-year-old could understand.

"So when we couldn't find your birth parents, we decided to be your parents. We loved you so much by that point that we couldn't imagine letting you go. So we adopted you." Arthur finished explaining.

Lola looked back and forth between her parents before settling her eyes on the dying fire.

"So you adopteded me?" she asked struggling over the word

Molly nodded slowly her brow furrowed in thought

"And these birf parents. They won't come and take me away from here, right?"

"No sweetheart, no one's going to take you away from us," Arthur assured her

"Good. because I like it here. And Bill is going to teach me how to catch salamanders next week. I can't miss that."

Lola yawned loudly and leaned sleepily on her mother.

"Can I go to sleep now?"

With a kiss to the top of her head, Molly ushered the sleepy girl off towards the staircase where she disappeared up the stairs.

Arthur quickly popped up from his seat on the couch and stoked the fire back to life. Grabbing a pinch of floo powder he tossed it into the flames, watching them swirl green.

"I need to make a call."

* * *

Lola was feeling awfully special. She was taking a special trip, just her and her parents. She had never been on a special outing just for her before. Not even Ginny had come with them and she and Ginny did _everything_ together.

She looked as her mother pointed out her Father's office as they walked past it down the hall. Her father was pushing open a big door and soon she was face to face with a huge oak desk that she could barely see the top of.

"Weasley, right on time!"

Arthur was quite surprised to find out that old Alva Eaglet was still manning the desk at the Welfare office. But it worked in his favor as she had gotten them in first thing in the morning.

"I've got the paperwork all ready for you and the missus to sign, here's a quill"

Molly and Arthur made quick work of the paperwork and were soon being ushered through the office.

"Come on! No time to waste, other appointments and things you know..."

As it was four years earlier Alva, Lola and Arthur made their way to the back room of the office, only this time with Molly in tow.

"Here young Miss, up on this table. There you go."

Lola was looking at the small wrinkled witch with a bit of apprehension, she had never done anything like this before.

Alva began to wave her wand in a series of patterns chanting under her breath.

"Alright, fingers please!"

The Weasleys presented their pointer fingers to the witch and she pricked them each with the tip of her wand.

Alva began to wave her wand in an even more complicated pattern, the chanting getting faster and faster.

Lola was quite nervous now and was about to ask to get down from the table when it suddenly felt like all the air had been sucked from the room.

A gold mist rose from Alva's wand and began to swirl around them. The three Weasleys felt the magic that was inside them expanding tenfold. The feeling grew and grew and was almost becoming uncomfortable when they felt the air around them give a great sigh.

It was as if Arthur and Molly and gained a new awareness of Lola that they hadn't known they were missing before. And Lola felt as if she were complete for the very first time in her life.

It was official, Lola was a Weasley. Legally and magically.


	5. Chapter 5

_We're picking up steam here folks! As an aside, there were some small changes made to the last chapter, the biggest being that Lola's birthday has changed_._ So if you would like you can go back and read those. But back to this chapter, it skips through time quite a bit and you'll see some familiar scenes. As always thanks for reading!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own HP in any way shape or form. Some scenes are borrowed from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone._

* * *

Click...Click...Click

"Hold on... I've just about got it..."

Click.

The padlock popped open and Lola sat back on her heels with a satisfied smile.

She felt quite proud of herself as this was the first time she had taken on the task of picking the broom shed lock. If she were being honest with herself she was nervous that she would not be able to complete the task. Ginny was much better at these things than her and well... she didn't want to fail in front of her sister.

"Alright, Lo, which broom do you want? Fred's or George's?"

"Shhhh," Lola hushed

She rushed into the small space and closed the door behind them cloaking the two girls in worn shed's roof let in peeks of moonlight that cast shadows on Ginny's face.

"Are you trying to get us caught?"

Ginny pushed the old Shooting Star into Lola's hand while stifling a giggle.

"No one is awake, we're not going to be caught."

"You say that now," Lola made her way out of the shed and across the paddock. She glanced at the Burrow standing or rather leaning, in the distance. "But I swear Mum has magic hearing."

Ginny responded by swinging her leg over the 'borrowed' broom and shooting ten feet up in the air. Not to be outdone Lola quickly followed.

They had been sneaking out to steal brooms for the last month and a half. They didn't fly every night, growing girls needed their sleep of course, but they flew enough to know they could give their brothers a run for their money. If they were ever allowed to fly with them that is.

And that was how this all started when Ginny had asked for her and Lola to be included in the pick-up quidditch game with their brothers. Who promptly laughed them back into the kitchen with their mother. It wasn't fair. Sure they were girls. Sure they were only six years old, but they weren't fragile or afraid.

Lola raised her face in the moonlight, feeling the cool air rush by her as she flew higher. Flattening herself on the broom, she began a swift downward spiral. The adrenaline rush was exhilarating. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and squinted her watering eyes against the rushing air. Before she could get too close to the ground she pulled up sharply.

_Excellent._ She thought. _I'm getting better at that_.

"Catch, Lola!"

Lola prepared herself for the impact of the makeshift quaffle, she was still quite small and one wrong move could very well knock her off her broom. She caught the apple with a small grunt.

* * *

"Horklumps!"

"Horklump guts to be exact, Luna."

The blond girls' wide grey eyes peered curiously at the large bowl of Horklump guts.

"But what are we to do with them?"

Ginny and Lola shared a mischievous smirk.

"This way to the attic Luna. We're going to need some leverage for this."

Ginny and Lola had stayed up the previous night debating the best course for their revenge. Two days ago the twins had done something that could not go unanswered. The two _ruffians _had kidnapped Ginny's Harry Potter doll and stranded the poor thing underneath the front porch. Lola, despite her fear of the dark, decided to champion her sister's cause. As Ginny let out a string of curse words that had the twins paling in fear, Lola had wedged her way under the front stairs and was making her way to the doll. Or what she thought was the doll, as it was quite dark and Lola couldn't really see where she was going.

Finally... Finally, Lola's hand closed around something soft. She could feel the dolls glasses pressing into her hand, and sighed in relief. Now came the hard part. How would she get out from under the porch? Night had fallen and it was much darker than when she had first crawled under the house.

"Ok Lola, just crawl forward, you've got this," she whispered

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't quite find the open space she had used to crawl in. She just kept running into walls and the undersides of the stairs. Lola closed her eyes and fought against the rising panic.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe ou- "SOMEBODY GET ME OUT FROM UNDER THIS BLOODY PORCH!"

Lola had eventually been guided through the opening by Percy and stomped straight up the stairs to have a bath. After handing Ginny, who was still sniffing, her doll of course.

That night she dreamed of shadow creatures dragging her out of bed and trying to suffocate her. She woke with a burning sensation in her chest. Sucking in huge swaths of air she took a terrified look around the room. Every shadow looked dangerous to her like it was one of those creeping lethifolds that she had read about in her _Fantastic Beasts_ book. It took one brush of a tree branch against her window, and Lola was out the door and dashing up the stairs. She crept into the first bed she saw and snuggled down into the covers.

"Huh?" George grunted.

"Shut it" Lola replied.

Despite the kindness that George had shown in her moment of weakness, it would not save him or Fred from their fate.

And so if anyone happened to look up to the top room of the Burrow at that moment they would see three pairs of eyes peering out the window, waiting for their moment to strike.

The moment came when the twins, having been sent out to gather eggs, stepped out of the kitchen.

Splat!

The pink sludge glooped down their fronts, and cut up horklump pieces began to suction to their exposed skin.

"What the-" Fred quickly looked up and caught a flash of red hair retreating into the window.

"This is the best you could do?" He shouted at the empty window

Lola poked her head out smiling smugly.

"Just try to get through the kitchen without dirtying Mum's floor!" She called down.

Pink slime pooled around their feet and squelched under their shoes.

Fred and George grinned. Their proteges were coming along nicely.

* * *

They were late. Which was not out of the ordinary for the Weasley family. Lola reckoned that something would have to be terribly wrong for them to show up to Kings Cross early.

There was a franticness in the air that had everyone running around like mad. Ron had lost Scabbers somewhere and was turning over furniture in an effort to find him. Fred and George were trying to sneak more packs of dungbombs into their trunks and Percy had "misplaced" his prefect's badge and was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

"Accio, prefects badge" Their mum shouted.

With a soft whoosh, the badge came flying out of George's open trunk.

"Oh honestly, you two!" The woman began to puff up like a blowfish

Ginny and Lola who were sitting on the couch and sharing a licorice wand between them, smiled in amusement. They would never get tired of the familiar chaos that was their family.

When all lost items, including pets, had been found and the trunks had been stowed away in the boot, the family piled into their old car and they were off. Lola couldn't help thinking about everything that would be different this year. For the first time ever, she and Ginny would be the only ones at home. She could admit to herself that she was jealous of Ron, who was beginning his first year. For as long as she could remember her older brothers had regaled her tales of Hogwarts and it sounded absolutely marvelous. But she could wait, she supposed, after all, it was only another year.

With a sigh, Lola rested her head on Ginny's shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

Lola was unceremoniously jostled awake as her sister moved to climb out of the car.

"Come on, Lo, we're here."

As soon as Lola's feet touched the ground her mother seized her hand and was off.

"Hurry now, we've only got fifteen minutes to catch the train!"

They hurried as quickly as they could without attracting the Muggles' attention to their somewhat strange luggage and Percy's owl.

"It's like this every year!" Molly fussed "Packed with muggles, of course."

The group came to a pause in between platforms nine and ten.

"Now what's the platform number?"

"Nine and three-quarters!" Ginny piped in, "Mum can't we go..."

"You two aren't old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."

Lola shrugged sympathetically in Ginny's direction. She understood perfectly what her sister was feeling. In fact, if she wasn't so afraid of her Mum's wrath, she could imagine them sneaking onto the train riding all the way to Hogwarts and demanding they be allowed to stay when they got there.

"Excuse me," Lola's daydream, in which she was attending a charms class, was interrupted.

The boy that had spoken had unruly black hair, round glasses, and oversized clothes. But what caught Lola's eye was the beautiful white snowy owl that was whose cage was sat on top of his trunk. The owl perched regally its cage.

"Not to worry," Her mother explained," All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

Lola watched as the small boy geared himself up and then took off at a run, disappearing through the barrier.

"Good." Her mother nodded satisfied. "Go on now Ron, we're right behind you."

* * *

Lola and Ginny sat peeling apples at the kitchen table the day after Halloween. Despite their fears of being bored out of their minds with their brothers gone, the girls had been having quite a good time. Not only did they not have to share any treats, dessert or dinner with anyone other than each other. It was much easier to practice flying without anyone being suspicious that their brooms had been used.

A small brown dot in the distance was quickly making its way towards the window. Soon it came close enough that the girls could see it was a large brown owl. Ginny went over to open the window and Lola shouted for their parents.

"Mum! Dad! Post's here!"

Molly Weasley bustled into the kitchen with her husband right behind her. He dropped a kiss onto each of the girls' heads as Molly relieved the owl of its burden and it took off out the window.

"Now what are you girls peeling apples for?" questioned Arthur as he stole one and took a bite out of it winking at the disapproving look on Lola's face.

"We're gonna make apple strudel, Dad," Ginny said.

"Oh? What time can I look forward-"

"Good Godric, no!" Molly had lost all the color in her face and was now leaning heavily onto the back of a chair. Arthur promptly hopped up from his chair and wrapped an arm around the shaking woman.

"Just look at what your son has gotten into, Arthur!" She shoved the letter into his hands attempting to take slow calming breaths.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Arthur began reading aloud," I am writing to inform you of a regrettable incident that your son, Ronald, was involved in. Last night Ronald and two of his classmates confronted and subsequently knocked unconscious a fully grown mountain troll. I do not wish to worry you, as he is unharmed. However, I would be remiss to not inform you of the events that have taken place. Should you have any questions-"

Lola and Ginny exchanged wide-eyed looks. A mountain troll? What was a mountain troll doing at Hogwarts? Coming to a mutual conclusion, the girls snuck out of the kitchen, where their father was now attempting to comfort their crying mother.

"Grab a piece of parchment, Gin. I'll get a quill."

Sequestered in their room, they began writing a letter to their brother. They needed to know just _what_ was going on at Hogwarts.

* * *

Lola watched as her breath fogged up the mirror. Outside was the sight of a winter wonderland. The snow had fallen heavy on the ground and the cottage houses draped in snow looked like something out of a storybook.

"Lolo, have a look at this."

Lola, Ginny, and their mother and father had traveled by international portkey to come and visit Charlie for Christmas. The last few days had been hectic between packing for the trip and sending off all the presents to Egypt and Hogwarts. The house was thrown into a panic when Ron had written a letter informing his mum that Harry had never had any Christmas presents and didn't expect to receive any this year. That had sent her into a knitting frenzy and sent Lola and Ginny straight into the kitchen to make another batch of homemade fudge.

Now, as she watched the gently falling snow Lola hoped that Harry would like his presents. As far as she could gather from Ron's infrequent letters, the poor boy didn't seem to have a very good home life. Which boggled her mind, who would want to treat the savior of the wizarding world poorly? Absolutely mad.

"Do you like it, Lola?"

Lola giggled as her present ran up her arm. Charlie had gotten her a miniature dragon model, it moved and flew and even breathed fire. It was a model of the Antipodean Opaleye and she was in love with it.

"It's perfect Charlie." She smacked a loud, and rather wet kiss on his cheek and ran off to show Ginny.

Sometime later, Lola kept her eyes peeled on the horizon. It was quite warm in the dragon sanctuary and the girl had removed her coat. Said coat was now being rung out in the hands of her mother how was also looking to the horizon, with a look of absolute terror on her face.

"Look there they are!"

Over the edge of the sanctuary came a swooping green dragon. On it's back you could just make out two redheads. As the dragon got closer they could clearly hear a loud the whooping that Ginny was letting out every time the dragon dropped in flight.

As soon as the pair had landed, Molly pulled Ginny into her arms patting her all over and checking for injuries.

"I'm fine Mum- I swear- "

"Come on Lola. Before Mum changes her mind."

Then, before any protests could be mounted, Charlie pulled her onto the harness in front of him. With a pat to the dragon's side and a "Go on girl" they were off.

Lola had never felt so free. The wind rushed through her hair as they soared high above the sanctuary. It was like flying on a broom, except ten times better. She threw out her arms to the side and wiggled her fingers through the rushing air. Below her, she could see the dragon reserve. Little dots that were the dragon handlers and the dragons that were littering the grounds.

"Hold on now!" Charlie shouted in her ear.

The dragon banked left and suddenly they were flying slightly sideways. Lola let out a booming laugh and held on tighter to the harness in front of her.

* * *

"Ginny! Lola! Slow down!"

They could hear their mother calling for them though she was quite aways behind them. The girls were just too excited to slow down. They were about to have four of their brothers back for the summer! They darted around as they jogged through the station, trying not to crash into any unsuspecting Muggles. That plan was foiled when Lola, who had looked back to see just how far behind them their Mum was, ran straight into the back of a Muggle. The man was extraordinarily large and had a very purple face. He glowered down at her and let out a growl that had his oversized mustache twitching.

"So-sorry sir" Lola stuttered.

She quickly scampered over closer to the barrier, pulling a laughing Ginny along with her.

"It's not funny" Lola grumbled

"Sorry, but you should've seen your face." Ginny snickered as their Mum came bustling up behind them.

"How much longer Mum?" They were staring in earnest at the barrier, where two or three Hogwarts students could be seen suddenly appearing on their side of the wall.

"Any minute now dears."

"There he is, Mum, there he is, look!" Ginny was bouncing on her toes and pointing toward the barrier.

Specifically, she was pointing to Harry Potter who had appeared through the barrier with their brother Ron and a girl with large bushy hair.

Lola stood on her tiptoes to get a better look. She was curious to see_ The _Harry Potter, but not nearly as interested as Ginny was. In fact, Ginny had been having their Father read the Harry Potter story to them every night before bed in preparation for this moment. Personally, Lola thought it was a tad bit of overkill. How cool could he really be? He was friends with _Ron_ after all.

Still, Lola watched as he said goodbye to Ron and headed off with the Muggle she had run into earlier. She gave an involuntary shiver as she remembered the look on the man's face, she would _not_ like to be related to him.

When all the Weasley siblings had been gathered and the trunks were stowed in the car. The family climbed in. Lola took a look back through the back window of the car. She could see Kings Cross station fading in the background. She took Ginny's hand in hers and squeezed as conversation revolved around the car.

"Oi, Gred! We never got our toilet seat!"


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Sorry for the missing chapter last week! There will be two new ones this week. We're getting ready for Hogwarts in this chapter and enjoy the smoothness of it. Things are about to get very bumpy for our heroine. Thanks again for reading!_

_Disclaimer: There is a line in this chapter from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. I do not own it or HP as a whole._

* * *

The tale-tell creak of the stairs sounded loud in the silence of the night. Lola froze.

The soft light of the bathroom showed the shadowed feet that hurried past the door.

Lola squinted at her reflection. Something was afoot.

It was moments like these that Lola thanked her lucky stars that Ginny insisted on sneaking out to learn how to fly. In turn, Lola had become like a thief in the night. Silently moving through the shadows, blending into the atmosphere.

She watched her brothers as the snuck down the last stair.

_When should I make my move?_ She mused

She watched as they turned the corner into the kitchen

_Not Yet_

She watched as they prepared to open the back door.

"Just where do you think you are going!" She whispered harshly in the best imitation of their mother she could do

It did the trick. All three boys seemed to freeze in place, and Fred let out an expletive that would have had their mother chasing him around the garden.

"Merlin, Lola. Don't do that!" George whispered

"Ha! You're lucky I wasn't Ginny. She'd have made you wet your pants."

Lola took a good look at her brothers. Dressed in muggle clothes. Shifty eyed. Edging to th-

Her glance caught on a shiny ring of keys dangling from Fred's hand.

"Where are you going and why does it involve Dad's car?"

Ron blushed a deep red. "It's none of your business!"

Lola arched a brow at him. "Tell me why I shouldn't rat you out, right this minute?"

"Because, Lo, you wouldn't do that to your loving-" George began

"Kind-" Fred jumped in

"Handsome-"

"Loyal-"

"Favorite-"

"Charlie's my favorite" Lola Interrupted

"We're going to break Harry out from the Muggles."

Ron's outburst took Lola by surprise. She hadn't expected him to be the one to break. Usually, Ron would double down on his stubbornness and Lola had an easier time needling information out of the twins.

Ron threw an anxious look to the clock, the one that told the time.

"If we don't leave soon we're not going to make it in time."

A noise from the top of the staircase startled all of them.

"Who's down there?" Percy's voice floated down

Lola had to think quickly. Percy wasn't always uptight and he wasn't always a stickler for the rules, but there was no way to know where he would fall on this particular issue.

"It's just me, Perce." She waved a hand to the others in a silent gesture to get out before they got caught. She could hear Percy coming down the steps. She sent up a silent prayer that her parents were still sound asleep.

She met Percy at the bottom of the stairs in an effort to give the others enough time to get out of sight.

"I just came down for a glass of water-"

* * *

Ginny came barreling up the stairs and nearly knocked Lola into the wall.

"Woah, Gin. Where's the fire?"

Ginny's face was bright red. A type of red that Lola hadn't seen in a while. It wasn't anger red, or 'I've just been crying' red. It was embarrassment red.

"Hey! Ow! Ginny that hurts!" Ginny seized Lola's arms in a vice-like grip and was now looking at her with a terrified gaze

"Harry Potter is in our kitchen!" her voice squeaked

Lola twisted out of Ginny's grip and shook out her arms, hoping to regain some feeling in them.

"Good. That means they were able to get him. I was- hey!"

Ginny shoved her face right into Lola's and seized her arms again.

"You knew!"

"Well...yeah. I caught the boys sneaking out when I was in the loo last night. I ran interference with Percy for them."

"Why didn't you tell me!" Ginny eyes filled with tears and her voice thickened.

"When would I have told you? This is the first time I'm seeing you this morning. Anyways, I told you I had to distract-"

But Ginny had shoved away from her and slammed their bedroom door shut behind her.

_What was her problem? _Lola puzzled all the way down the stairs. Sure, she knew Ginny had confessed to having a crush on the boy. But to act like that? Lola had never seen her sister that out of sorts. Never. Not even after being pranked by the twins.

"Honestly Lola!"

She was startled from her thoughts and looked at her Mum, who was starting in scrutiny at her pajamas.

"Why do you insist on wearing your brothers' t-shirts to bed? Your Great Aunt Muriel gave you that lovely pink nightgown among those dresses she sent. I have yet to see you wearing it."

Lola rolled her eyes as her mother turned back to the stove. Rounding the table, she smacked a wet kiss on Ron's cheek, to which he responded with an indignant "Gerroff", ruffled Percy's sleep tousled hair and dropped into her seat. Right across from Harry Potter.

Lola opened her mouth to say something to him and was immediately interrupted by her Mum loading her plate with breakfast and muttering under her breath about Lola's apparent lack of ladylike manners.

"Just tell me why you won't even consider wearing it."

Lola breathed out a sigh of exasperation.

"Great Auntie Muriel does _not_ like me."

"She wouldn't have sent the clothes if she didn't like you."

"She sent the clothes because she likes _you_, not _me_" Lola punctuated this by spearing a sausage on the end of her fork.

Her mother shot her a warning look.

"Look, Mum. Wearing one of those nightgowns to sleep is like wearing a paper bag to sleep. It 's way too big and way too uncomfortable."

"Ginny wears the nightgown."

Lola barked a laugh around the food in her mouth.

"Yeah, cause Ginny doesn't want anyone to see her wearing the dresses. The nightgown can be hidden."

Lola looked down at her oversized Chudley Cannons shirt - that she had nicked from Ron- and black sleep shorts. She didn't see anything wrong with her pajamas, she only wore them at night anyway.

"I suppose that means that you'll wear the dresses, then?"

Lola thought about it. Would she wear the dresses? They were a little...juvenile for her tastes, but that wasn't anything that removing a few bows wouldn't fix. And if it would get her out of wearing the nightgown...

"Deal. I'll wear the dresses."

Harry had watched this exchange with a peculiar look on his face. Almost as if he expected yelling to break out at any second.

* * *

Pink. Everything was always pink. Lola did up the last button on the top of her dress. It was a good fit and once Lola had cut off the lace and bows it wasn't too bad to look at. However, the rounded collar and the way the skirt stuck out made her look less like the not-quite-a teenager who was on her way to Hogwarts and more like a little girl. The pink didn't help.

Still, Lola supposed that she knew why her mother found great joy in dressing Lola in the color. In a family full of redheads there was an unspoken rule that pink was to be avoided at all costs. But with Lola's hair being the very opposite of red, here was her mother's chance to fulfill her fantasies of having a little girl to dress up in all the "ladylike" attire. And if dressing Lola up like a doll her Mum happy, she was going to let her do it. Lola owed her that much.

A sharp gasp sounded from the other side of the privacy screen, startling Lola from her thoughts. She shoved her worn trainers on her feet and hurried out into the open fitting room.

"Oh! I'm sorry dear." apologized the fitting matron.

Her rather large bottom was stuck high in the air as she bent over to adjust the hem of Ginny's skirt. Above her waving buttocks Ginny sent Lola an exasperated eye roll. Lola winced sympathetically in return, she had had her turn getting poked and prodded by the witches floating pins and didn't envy her sister at all.

"That should do it!" the witch said rising to her feet. "Both skirts have been taken up high enough that they should be able to be let down through their third year."

Upon being let go Ginny had hightailed it behind the privacy screen and was now getting dressed as quickly-and loudly- as she could.

"You're lucky Molly," the witch continued "These girls are so little that there was more extra fabric than normal. The witch patted Lola on the head and turned away. Lola scowled at the mention of her short stature. She knew she was short, her brothers reminded her every day.

"Alright, that checks off the robes. The only thing we have left to get is your books for this year girls."

Lola couldn't help but look longingly at the Magical Menagerie shop as they passed by. What she wouldn't give to have a pet to take to school with her. But it just wasn't in the cards for her. Money was especially tight for her family this year with there being six Weasley children attending Hogwarts at the same time. Lola had had to procure an old cauldron from Bill, Ginny had been given her grandmother's old wand and Lola's had come from some unknown relative on the Prewett side of the family. Ginny and Lola had even convinced their parents to allow them to share the rather large- and expensive- collection of Gilderoy Lockhart books that were required. When their parents had mentioned that the girls may not be sorted into the same house they were met with horrified looks.

No, they had a plan. Where one went the other would follow, and that was that.

Now, they were squeezed into a line that was much too long, in Lola's opinion. She was interested in speaking to Mr. Lockhart about his various interactions with magical creatures, she did not think it was worth it to stand in this long line. When her mother patted her hair and adjusted her dress, again, Lola took her leave.

"Daddy? Can I go look at the books? I promise I won't go far." Arthur Weasley, who was deep in discussion with Mr. and Mrs. Granger waved her off and told her not to leave the store.

Lola was grateful to escape the crowd as she slipped into the bookshelves. She sat her books down on the floor and looked up at the tall shelves. _1001 Magical Creatures._ That would do nicely. Lola sunk to the ground and settled down to read. As she read the sound of the crowd grew distant and she lost herself amongst the pages.

It was the extra loud roar of the crowd that caught Lola's attention. Her mind had been ripped away from the detailed illustration of Fwooper feathers she had been examining and she realized she had better get back to her family before it was time to go.

Raised voices alerted that something was wrong. Lola pushed through the thick crowd as quickly as possible. She could see the twin's hair hovering over by the doorway.

"I beg your pardon!" a wizard squawked indignantly

"Sorry. Excuse me." Lola tried to refrain from elbowing anyone else out of her way.

Finally, she broke through the crowd and came to stand on the other side of the Grangers. Lucius Malfoy, who she recognized from his long blond hair, was looking at the Grangers...and her... as if they were a particularly foul bit of waste that had not been properly disposed of.

"The company you keep, Weasley... the company you _adopt_... and I thought your family could sink no lower-"

The word dripped like acid from his mouth and Lola felt burned. As her Father launched himself at Malfoy and chaos erupted around her, Lola stood frozen.

_The company you adopt. _The phrase rattled around her head like a boomerang. Her stomach started to slowly tie itself in knots.

_The company you adopt. _

Lola was well aware of the fact that she was adopted. It was not a secret that she was not biologically a Weasley. How could it be? It was obvious when you took a look at her. However, Lola had never before considered that other people may see her adoption as something that was... bad. Lola herself had never considered her adoption as something that was bad.

But... the way the man had said the word. Like it was dirty. Like _she_ was dirty. Like her family had done something unforgivable by taking her in. It made her feel sick, it made her worry. It felt like a shard of ice had wedged its way into her heart and was sending jolts of icy pain straight through it. But it wasn't until later, much later, after the fighting had been broken up, dinner had been eaten and Lola was tucked into her bed, that she let the first tear fall.

* * *

"You look lovely dear." The magical mirror complimented.

Lola wasn't sure. She had been looking at herself for the last ten minutes and still couldn't decide if she liked was she saw. Her eyes flicked to the reflection of the calendar in the mirror. August thirty first. She was officially eleven years old. She refocused back on her reflection.

She had taken her hair out of its standard style. It fell just past her shoulders and bounced as she moved. The springy coils seemed to take on a life of their own, the more she moved around. It had taken her mother a while to learn how to style it, she remembered being told the story. Her mother scouring books and asking for advice on the best way to braid it. The sheer mass of it was why Lola had taken to wearing it piled on top of her head. She didn't have the patience to do anything else.

"Lola! Dinner!"

Lola secured the hair on her head and took one last look in the mirror.

* * *

Ginny was back to scribbling in the diary that their Mum had gotten her. Lola shot a glare at the book. It had been taking up more and more of Ginny's time in the last month and Lola was annoyed, not that she had any right to be. It was rare that any of the Weasley kids got something that was just for them and not a hand me down. Lola should have been happy that Ginny had something that was just _hers_.

Lola looked out to the highway that was flying past. Lola had always had Ginny. And Ginny had always had Lola. In the last month, it had been less Ginny and Lola and more... just Lola. She pressed a hand against her belly, which had taken to tying itself in knots again. It would have been nice to have Ginny around more in the last month as Lola had become more and more of an anxious mess.

If you had asked her a month ago, Lola would have been over the moon excited to attend Hogwarts. But now...

_The company you adopt._

Lola pressed her hand into her stomach harder. That phrase echoing unbidden in her head. Lola was worried. Worried that more people at Hogwarts would feel like Lucious Malfoy did. Before that fateful day in Flourish and Blotts, she never would have imagined that anyone would even ask her about her family, about her adoption. It seemed like everyone she knew had always known she was a Weasley or had not questioned it in her presence. And the people she met along the way, like Harry and Hermione, didn't question her directly about it. But Hogwarts would be different, she knew that.

Hurrying through the barrier, Lola and Ginny quickly hugged their parents and were ushered onto the train at the last second between the twins.

"What about Ron and Harry?"

"Don't worry, Gin." Fred said with a sly grin. "Your future husband is probably somewhere around here."

Ginny blushed a bright red and clutched her diary closer to her chest

"Leave her alone, Fred, and come help me with this trunk."

It was halfway through the train journey when Lola's nerves resurfaced full force. Luna had joined her and Ginny and they were in the middle of swapping chocolate frog cards when their compartment door banged open.

Pale skin, and pale slicked-back hair and a pompous look graced the face of their visitor.

_Malfoy._ She thought darkly

"Right, no one worthwhile in here. Just a bunch of firsties." Malfoy shot back at someone behind him

His cool eyes moved over the three girls calculatingly.

"Nothing but a weasel, a weirdo it looks like, and a..." his commentary paused as he looked over Lola "and a fake weasel... an unknown."

Ginny had opened her mouth to retort but before she could he had slammed out of the compartment.

_The company you adopt. Unknown._

Lola felt her stomach clench and a pain pierced through her chest. She closed her eyes against the feeling.

* * *

It wasn't until the girls had changed into their school robes that Hermione Granger stuck her head into the compartment.

"Oh, there you are!"

"Hello, Hermione. How are you?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked quickly around the compartment.

"Good. Good. Just worried."

"Worried about what?" The older girl huffed out a sigh and tugged at the ends of her hair.

"Your brother and Harry. Have you seen them?"

Lola and Ginny shot a concerned glance at each other. They had assumed that Harry and Ron had been with Hermione the whole train ride. If she were here asking after them, where had they been?

"I've checked with all your brothers and no one has seen them..." She had gone back to nervously gnawing on her lip.

"Well, they must be on the train somewhere..." Ginny began

"And if they didn't make it on, which I'm sure they did, Mum and Dad would make sure they got to school." Lola finished

Despite the positive tone that the girls took on they were both quite concerned.

Where were Ron and Harry?

* * *

The night sky was laid out before them like a blanket of dark velvet. The boats rocked of their own accord as they followed Hagrid across the lake. Lola couldn't help but marvel at the sight before her. The castle stood looming over them, both ominous and enchanting. Tall turrets stretched to the sky and glowing dots indicated illuminated windows.

The boats docked and the first years scrambled to keep up with Hagrids long strides. Soon enough the giant man made three resounding booms against the vast doors They swung open and a stern-looking witch clad in tartan robes stood before them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: The first part of first year! Y'all will have to excuse me for taking some liberties with the castle and the way Ginny's possession works. It has always made sense to me that there were "triggers" so to speak. As always thank you for reading! _

_Disclaimer: I still own nothing!_

* * *

**Dear Mum,**

**I'm a Gryffindor! Ginny is too, of course. See, we told you it would all work out.**

Although it nearly didn't. Lola stared at the parchment as she thought back to her sorting.

"_Loleta Weasley!" _

_Lola took a deep breath and began to shuffle her way towards Professor McGonagall. As she made her way to the front of the room whispers broke out over the Great Hall. Her steps echoed as they quickened. The sooner this was over the better._

_Lola looked towards the Gryffindor table as she sat on the high stool. Percy was busy trying to settle Ginny into her seat- although it looked like he was annoying her more than anything else. The last thing she saw before the old hat dropped over her eyes was Fred and George shooting her identical thumbs-ups._

"_What do we have here?" _

_Lola couldn't help pressing a hand to her stomach as the croaky voice of the Sorting Hat sounded in her head._

"_Interesting...a Weasley, you say? My my, never had one like this before." _

'_Never had one like that before?' Lola thought_

"_Why, like you before, so well suited to each house. It's all here, in your head. Courage befitting of a Weasley. A want for knowledge that could serve you well in Ravenclaw. Fierce loyalty. And interestingly enough..."_

'_What?'_

"_A thirst to prove yourself. Ambition like any Slytherin I've sorted before." _

_Lola sat up straighter in concern. She had to be sorted into Gryffindor! Ginny was there, her brothers were there. What would it say about her if she was the first Weasley child to not be a Gryffindor?_

"_Where to place you? I think-"_

'_If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd like to be in Gryffindor.'_

"_Are you sure? You could do so well-"_

'_I'm sure," Lola quickly interrupted. "Besides uh... Mr. Hat, sir, I'm a Weasley.'_

"_A Weasley indeed. I shall put you in-"_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

Lola blinked as the letter came back into focus in front of her.

**Hogwarts is... well it's different than what I thought it'd be. It's... I dunno...bigger and more intimidating than I expected. But the boys are keeping us company and helping us adjust**.

Lola couldn't help but scoff at her lie. She barely saw her brothers and if she did they hardly acknowledged her. Percy was constantly busy with "prefect duties" although Lola suspected that wasn't all he was preoccupied with. Ron spent all his time with Harry and Hermione whispering in corners and ignoring her. Fred and George...well, it became clear to Lola that the twins were somewhat of celebrities around the school. They were on the Quidditch team, and people from every house thought they were good for a laugh. She and Ginny stuck together most of the time.

She glanced at Ginny's empty bed. Lately, Lola had been more on her own than ever before.

**Classes are going well. Ginny and I spend a lot of time reading in the library. We want to make sure we get top marks at the end of the term. The extra studying is paying off, in Transfiguration we managed to turn our matches into perfect needles! McGonagall gave us five points each! Percy said he was proud of us, Ron said the world didn't need two more Hermiones.**

**Anyway, how're you and Dad? Write me back and let me know.**

**Love you loads!**

**-Lola**

Lola slipped her feet into her shoes and glanced at the clock. If she left now, she could get to the owlery and back before curfew. Nodding to her only other roommate, a girl named Demelza Robins, Lola set off down the stairs.

It took one moving staircase to get her hopelessly lost.

"Good show old boy!"

This was the third time Lola had passed the portrait of a King and his squire playing croquet, She was going in circles.

Exasperated, Lola leaned against the wall next to the portrait and was surprised to feel the wall behind her move.

The wall opened to a long and staircase that descended into darkness.

"Ok, Lola," she said to herself, "what could go wrong if you go down the long and scary staircase. Everything. That's what."

She could deduce that going into unknown corridors was probably a very bad idea, Lola couldn't seem to shake the curiosity that overcame her. She was afraid of the dark- though you would never get her to admit it- but she was not afraid of adventure. Besides Ron found a three-headed dog last year, who knows what was waiting for her at the end of this staircase?

What was waiting for her was a long and rather large room. The furnishings were brown and oversized, much like the couches in the common room. The far wall was covered in bookshelves, from ceiling to floor the shelves were filled with large tomes that were covered in a thick layer of dust.

Lola couldn't help cataloging the room as she walked through. Two fireplaces, three couches, two large study tables and one large rug that ran the length of the room. And one large clock that told her that she had only fifteen minutes to find her way back to the common room.

Lola scrambled to the door on the other side of the room. Hopefully, it would dump her out somewhere familiar.

Lola made it back to Gryffindor Tower after being let out on the ground floor. However, she promptly forgot about the secret room as classes picked up.

* * *

"Stupid! That buffoon of a man! He doesn't know anything about-"

"Anything, Lo. He doesn't know anything about anything. He's a total fraud if you ask me," Ginny said emphatically.

"How could he possibly think that imps- IMPS Ginny- were dark creatures? Mischievous, yes, but dark? They're no more dangerous than a garden gnome."

Lola had had enough of one Gilderoy Lockhart. She had suspected that he was full of it when his first assignment was a quiz about his favorite hair products, but today's incident really took the cake. It had started with a lesson on the so-called "dark" creatures and ended with Lola and Ginny lugging a box full Imps to the Care of Magical Creatures office.

"Professor Kettleburn! Are you in there?"

The door swung open to reveal a large man built very much like a wall. Lola and Ginny had to crane their necks up to look him in the face. Said face was very red and mostly covered by the long white mustache that graced his upper lip.

"What's that now? How can I help you?"

"Ginny and Lola Weasley, sir. We-"

"Weasley, you say?" He turned a skeptical eye towards Lola, who felt her face heat.

"Yes. Weasley," Ginny said narrowing her eyes at the man, "We need to know what to do with these imps, sir. We were in Defense Against the Dark Arts and there was an er... incident."

Lola rolled her eyes, "Professor Lockhart let them out and they bit his ankles and managed to trip him in the chaos. He bumped his head and went down to the Hospital Wing."

Professor Kettleburns face got even redder as he took in the box in between the girls

"Not again! I told that man after the pixies that I would not-"

Bang!

Suddenly, out of the office door, a stream of salamanders were scuttling towards the staircases.

Professor Kettleburn swore and took off down the hallway behind them, leaving Ginny and Lola staring after him.

"So what do we do about this?" Ginny gestured towards the box between them.

"Well, I suppose we could take them down to the lake. It should be marshy enough for them to nest there."

Ginny nodded in agreement

"Lead the way, LoLo."

They had just passed the girls' bathroom on the first floor when Ginny stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?"

A strange look had come over Ginny's face. She stood stock-still and cocked her head as if she was listening to something.

"Nothing. I just remembered I had to tell T- I mean to write something in my diary. Now. Before I forget."

Lola looked at her sister in confusion. Everything had been fine a few minutes ago and now Ginny was bouncing on her toes and looking like she wanted to run back to Gryffindor tower.

"Can it wait until later? It won't take-"

"No!" Lola was startled at the intensity in Ginny's voice

"I need to go now, I'll see you later."

Lola watched as Ginny took off towards the staircase. What was wrong with her? She looked back at the box of imps. She would handle one problem at a time. Staring with the imps.

"There you go, you should be able to be happy here."

Lola watched as the small creatures took to the edges of the lake and buried themselves in the brush. She could have sworn she saw the last imp turn and wave at her, but she couldn't be quite sure.

Lola took a scenic route back to the castle walking along the edges of the lake. It was getting colder. Before she knew it October would be there and walking along the lake would not be near as enjoyable.

It was a ripple underneath the surface of the water that took her away from her inner thoughts. The ripple was stronger the second time it appeared. Whatever was underneath the water was about to surface.

A pale green head covered in wiry black hair emerged from the water. Just enough so that small beady eyes peered out at Lola.

_Mermaid!_ Lola thought excitedly

Lowering herself slowly she took in the being. The selkie was small and obviously not full-grown, Lola could only see the top of its head but it's dark eyes watched her curiously.

"Hello."

Lola gave the selkie her most friendly smile and was dismayed to see the selkie dive back under the water. She waited for a few more minutes before sprinting towards the castle.

Fred and George were never going to believe this!

* * *

"Um, Hermione?"

It wasn't normal for Lola to feel shy. However, there was something intimidating about Ron, Harry, and Hermione. It wasn't that she was afraid of them it was that when they were all together sitting in the common room it felt forbidden to approach them. Like you were intruding into a sacred space.

"What do you need, Lola?" Ron answered looking up from the chess game he was winning.

Lola narrowed her eyes at her brother

"I said Hermione. Not Ronald. I don't need anything from you"

Ron looked affronted, "What could you possibly need from Hermione? Don't bother her, she's studying. "

Hermione had, in fact, stopped studying. With a large book spread across her lap, the older girl watched Lola and Ron go back and forth with interest.

"Ugh, you're so-" Lola placed her hands on her hips and glared down at her older brother.

"Listen, unless you know where I can find a book about Mermish, I need to speak with Hermione."

"Mer-what?"

"Exactly," Lola said vindicated

"And for your information Hermione is her own person. I do not need permission from you to speak with her."

Harry scoffed rather loudly at this and tried to cover his laugh with a cough as Ron turned his glare towards him.

Lola turned to Hermione "Do you know if they would have a book like that in the library?"

Hermione thought about it.

"They have a few if my memory is correct. I would ask Madam Prince, I'm sure she could point you in the right direction."

Lola smiled brightly at the girl "Thanks! Those books are going to be so much help!"

Lola hurried excitedly out of the portrait hole and presumably down to library.

"But what are the books going to help with?" Hermione questioned

* * *

Lola had never been more concerned. something was very wrong with Ginny. She was pale and shaky, overly worried about Filches' pet cat and acting like something was around every corner waiting to jump out at her. Unlike Ron, Lola was not content to put down her sisters' strange behavior to the fact that she liked cats. No, something was wrong with Ginny and Lola intended to find out what it was.

"Percy! Wait a minute!" Lola hurried through the crowded corridor

Percy had just entered the corridor and was attempting to smooth down his rather messy hair.

"Ah, Lola. What can I help you with. Is it fast? Because I rather need to go to the lavatory and er..."

Lola ignored her brothers formality and took a good look at his appearance. He was disheveled and Percy was never disheveled unless...

Lola whipped around and caught a head of long brown hair turning the corner. So that was what Percy had been up to. She filed that information away to use at a later date. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand.

She pulled a protesting Percy into an alcove where they could have a little more privacy.

"Lola, I must insist that you-"

"Shut it, Percival. I do not care that you need to go to the loo to clean up so you don't look like you've been snogging Penelope Clearwater-"

Percy looked absolutely terrified.

"H-How do you know about that?"

Lola was quickly running out of patience. She did not care who her brother was or was not snogging, it was not nearly as important as what was going on with Ginny

"It's obvious to anyone who bothers to pay attention. Listen, something is wrong with Ginny. She's not acting like herself and-"

"Does she have another cold, you think? Or maybe it's the flu? I better get another Pepper-up for her."

"No. I don't think that's the problem. She-"

A great clang rang through the hallway and Percy looked at his watch

"Nearly late for class! You better be going too, Lo. I'll make sure to get that potion for her!"

"But she's not sick! Or at least I don't think that what's wrong with her..." Lola's voice echoed in the nearly empty hallway.

Lola hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and began the trek to the dungeons. It wouldn't do to be late for potions. She supposed she was on her own to solve this mystery on her own. Ron was too busy with his friends and she couldn't even track down the twins long enough to let them know her concerns.

Lola sighed and took her seat next to a shivering Ginny. She was on her own.

* * *

"That's enough!" Lola had reached her limit with Ginny.

For weeks she had been moping around and bursting into tears at the littlest of things. Today she had burst into their dormitory in tears after Fred and George had started teasing Harry about being the Heir of Slytherin. Harry didn't seem to mind. In fact, Harry seemed to find it amusing therefore- in Lola's opinion- Ginny shouldn't be upset.

"Seriously Gin, what's wrong with you?" Lola was grateful that their dorm mate was absent from the room. Maybe she could finally get Ginny to tell her what was going on with her.

"W-what do you mean." Ginny sniffed as she wrapped herself in her blankets

"I mean this, you. Crying on your bed because the twins were teasing Harry. Ginny you never cry." Lola began to pace the length of the room

"You've been distant, and pale, and shaky and a verifiable water pot."

Lola peered at her sister. Ginny looked terrified she was clutching the blanket so tight to her that Lola thought it might rip. Her eyes filled up with more tears that she tried to blink away. Lola sighed as she sat next to her sister.

"Ginny, please. This is me. I just want to help. I want to know what's wrong."

They sat for a minute. Both girls in quiet contemplation. Finally, Ginny reached out a hand and pulled her diary out from underneath her pillow.

"Lola, I- " Ginny's voice cracked. The girl took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself. When she opened her eyes Lola saw the familiar steeliness that Ginny had had her whole life. In a flash, her eyes hardened to something darker, something that Lola didn't recognize at all.

"You want to know what's wrong with me? Why I've been distant?" Ginny had unraveled the blanket from around her and stood to glare at Lola, diary in hand.

"You are what's wrong with me."

Lola reeled back like she had been slapped

"Me?"

"Do you know how much abuse I have to take because of you?

"Abuse?" Lola parroted

"I didn't realize it when we were at home, I was just happy to have someone to play with. But being here opened my eyes."

Lola was confused and quite frankly a little scared. Ginny was pacing back and forth in front of her like a predator stalking its prey. What was she talking about?

"What did Hogwarts open your eyes too?" Lola questioned carefully, she wasn't sure she liked where this conversation was going.

"I realized just how much of a burden you are. How much I dislike -no- how much I _hate_ being your sister."

Lola drew in a sharp breath. Ginny had put air quotes around the word sister. Lola's stomach began twisting into knots.

"W-what do you mean? You hate being my sister?"

"The fact is Lola," Ginny's voice had taken on a smooth and cruel tone, she sounded nothing like herself "I have spent a significant amount of my time at Hogwarts explaining to people that you are in fact a Weasley-"

"You have? Ginny I didn't know! If I had I-"

"Don't cut me off."

Lola's mouth snapped shut

"I realized that _I _am the only Weasley daughter. I shouldn't be put second to _you_. People shouldn't be paying you more attention than me. My family shouldn't like _you_ better than _me_-"

At that Lola felt anger spark up inside her. How dare she make that claim? Their parents had never treated them differently!

"You're not even making sense, Ginny! No one likes me more than they like you! Especially not our family! I- I'm sorry that you feel this way. I didn't ask to be adopted, so don't blame me for that."

Ginny sneered and tightened her grip on her diary. She was clearly gearing up to spew more hurtful things, Lola cut her off.

"I'm not going to apologize for being adopted. I'm just as much a part of this family you are. If you- ahem." Lola cleared her rapidly tightening throat.

"If you really...dislike me that much. I'll keep my distance."

Ginny leveled a smirk at her

"Good. I told you that I hate being your sister. Well, I'm also starting to hate _you_ too."

A sea of red invaded Lola's vision. It took everything in her to stop herself from shaking her sister. Instead, she focused on gathering her winter cloak and scarf. She had to get out of there before she did something -or said something- she would regret.

"Stop it Ginny. Now you're just being cruel."

Ginny watched silently as Lola shoved her feet into her boots. Lola took a look at the girl she felt she could no longer recognize.

"If anyone else questions you about me, send them to me. I have no problem handling my own business"

The door slammed behind her.

* * *

_Don't cry_

_Don't cry_

_Don't cry_

Lola repeated this mantra in her head as she practically flew across the common room. The only break in her thoughts coming as she almost collided with Lee Jordan who was entering the room.

"Woah, Little Weasley. Slow down."

Lola shoved past him. She felt like she couldn't breathe in the castle anymore.

_Don't cry_

_Don't cry_

_Don't cry_

"Oi! Fake Weasley! Watch where you're going!"

Tears burned at the corners of her eyes as Malfoy's words reached her ears. As soon as Lola had reached the doors she took off at a run. Snow kicked up behind her as she sprinted away from the castle.

She ran until she couldn't breathe. Chest heaving Lola collapsed at the familiar bank of the lake. She buried her head in her hands and let out gasping sobs.

A pop from the surface of the lake penetrated Lola's grief. She peaked out and caught sight of a pale green face watching her intently. Lola gave the selkie a watery smile and buried her face back in her arms. The selkie stayed with Lola until she had gathered herself enough to make her way back to the castle.


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Sorry for my absence this past week. Things have been crazy for me! Here are two chapters for your reading pleasure! Thank you as always!_

* * *

Loneliness is a funny feeling. Especially when you are surrounded by people. And Lola was surrounded by people. She was in a whole castle filled with people and she had never felt more alone in her life.

Lola took a quick glance to her right where Ginny was sitting six feet away from her. They hadn't spoken to each other since their fight. Not one word had been said between them, although the morning after the fight Ginny had looked as if she wanted to say something. Lola, however, had rushed past her. She was still hurt by Ginny's words and was not in the mood to let that hurt go so quickly.

Now, though? After two weeks of silence, Lola was tired of avoiding her sister. Lola managed to catch the furtive glance her sister sent her way as Lola loaded up her plate with a second helping of chicken and mashed potatoes.

Lola had never realized just how much Ginny meant to her. For as long as she could remember they had done everything together. A mismatched pair of bookends is what Fred and George once called them. It felt strangely wrong to do things by herself, it felt like she was missing her left arm. Mostly it felt like she was invisible and the one person who had always _seen _her didn't want to anymore.

* * *

_I need a private place to practice. _Lola thought to herself.

Winded she made her way through the entrance hall of the castle. Lately, Lola had been spending most of her time at the lake attempting to chat with her mermaid friend.

Well, a friend was a strong word for what they were. Mostly Lola would badly read out words from her Mermish language books and the selkie would cringe at her attempt. Still, progress was being made. The day before, Lola got the selkie to laugh at her rather bad pronunciations. And today Lola had wished the selkie a Happy Christmas and the selkie had replied, What is a Christmas? And Lola understood her! Before, all Lola could hear was the rather painful screeching of the mermish language above water but once she began to understand the language, it was rather beautiful in its own way.

Still, Lola would need a private place to practice, as she was sure that not everyone would appreciate the language as much as her.

The staircase she was on jerked beneath her and began to move. Groaning Lola braced herself against the railing. With any luck, the stairs would change back immediately and she could continue on her way to the common room. She was looking forward to indulging in the homemade fudge that her Mother had sent her for Christmas.

Luck was not on her side though, as five minutes later Lola was still on the staircase that had yet to move again.

_Oh well_, she thought, _better see if I can find another way there._

The memory flew to the front of her mind as soon as she caught sight of the croquet playing king and squire. The secret room! How could she have forgotten about the room? She didn't think she even remembered to tell Ginny- Lola quickly pivoted from that thought, thinking about Ginny hurt and she didn't want to ruin this moment.

Lola began pressing on stones next to the portrait- the two occupants had stopped playing and were now watching her curiously- she knew she had pressed the right one when the stone seemed to heat beneath her hand.

The stone wall was surprisingly quiet as it slid open to reveal the stairs behind it.

"Lumos."

Lola descended the stairs quickly and grinned as she looked around the room. A cloud of dust enveloped her as she plopped down on one of the couches. She'd have to remember to write to her Mum about some cleaning charms. Otherwise, this place was perfect.

* * *

"Lola."

"Lola."

"Lolo?"

"Wha-"

Lola struggled to emerge from the sleep she had been in. Bleary-eyed she took in her sisters form sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Ginny? What's wrong?"

This was a surprise. Lola and Ginny hadn't spoken one word to each other in three weeks, not even when they had exchanged Christmas presents. Now, suddenly, Ginny was waking Lola out of a dead sleep while on the verge of tears.

"Do you... do you think Hermione's going to be ok?"

Lola didn't know how to feel. One the one hand it was relieving that Ginny was speaking to her again. On the other hand, it was maddening that the first thing she did was ask about Hermione. As if she and Lola hadn't had the biggest fight of their lives and needed to talk about it.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. You heard what Ron said. It was a potions accident. She wasn't attacked or anything like that."

At those words, Ginny seemed to deflate. Lola took a critical look at her sister. Ginny looked so defeated, for lack of a better term. Her hair was dull, her skin pale. Usually, Ginny Weasley was full of life and vibrancy, so full, it nearly radiated off her in waves. Now she just looked young, like a scared little girl.

An awkward silence descended on the pair. Before Lola could build the courage to say something. Ginny muttered thanks and slipped through the curtains.

Lola was conflicted. Should she go after Ginny and try to force the conversation she knew they needed to have? Or should she let Ginny come to her?

Sleep was tugging Lola back under, and she finally gave in to the feeling that was calling her. Who knows? Maybe tonight was the first step to getting her sister back. She was sure that things would be better between them in the morning.

She was wrong. Ginny was nowhere to be found when Lola emerged from bed the next morning. Three more weeks passed without a word between them.

* * *

Thud.

Lola looked up from the potions essay she was rewriting.

Thud.

A glance at her watch told her that it was well past one o'clock in the morning. Both her dorm mates had been asleep when she had pulled out the essay. If they were sneaking out... she had better go and stop them. Demelza wasn't one to sneak around at night and would get caught the moment she stepped foot outside of the tower. As mad at Ginny as Lola was, she didn't want her to get detention with Filch or worse, Snape.

Looking out at the dormitory, Delemza's curtains were shut tight around her bed. Ginny's curtains were slightly open and through that crack, Lola could see that the girl was not in her bed.

As Lola pulled her shoes and dressing gown on she took notice that Ginny's shoes were missing as well. She moved a little quicker hopefully she could catch in the common room and talk some sense into her.

Her optimism didn't last long. The common room was empty and it wasn't until the third floor that Lola had caught sight of Ginny. Lola kept one eye out for teachers or Peeves who took pleasure in getting students in trouble, as she hurried forward to catch up with her sister.

"Ginny!" Lola whispered

But Ginny was too far away to hear her. Lola followed as Ginny descended the stairs to the first floor and turned into the bathroom.

The bathroom?

Lola's first instinct was to be exasperated. Ginny had snuck out of Gryffindor tower to use the loo? When there was a perfectly good one right in the tower! But that didn't make sense, although Ginny's behavior hadn't made a lot of sense all year. What if something was really wrong with her?

Lola entered the bathroom with caution, with her wand drawn and a jinx at the tip of her tongue.

"You shouldn't have come here, you know."

The monotone voice chilled Lola straight to the bone.

"What do you mean? I wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn't want you to get detention."

Ginny laughed and turned skin looked like porcelain in the moonlight streaming in through the window. Her eyes were hard and very, unlike Ginny.

"Detention is the last thing little Ginerva is worried about."

"Ginevra? Gin, why are you-"

Ginny turned her back on her sister and walked over to the sinks on the other side of the room.

"She's quite frightened, you know. She's worried I am going to make her hurt you."

Lola was terrified. Whatever was happening to her sister was far more dangerous than she imagined. It was beyond anything Lola knew how to fix.

"G-Ginny would never hurt me," Lola said in an attempt sound confident.

"She wouldn't," Ginny smiled evilly at the reflection of Lola in the mirror, "But I would."

Then Ginny hissed at the sink and Lola watched as the sink sunk to reveal a gaping hole.

J_ust how many secret rooms does this castle have? _Lola thought incredulously.

There was a great sliding noise that was rising through the hole, the more Ginny hissed at it the quicker and louder the sliding -no- slithering noise became.

Ginny jerked in place and began to twitch. Lola, who had unknowingly taken a few steps back, felt the sink press against her back.

Suddenly, Ginny turned around.

"Turn around Lola! Please! Turn Around!"

There was something in Ginny's voice that was _her_. Lola could see the warmth in her brown eyes again.

"Turn around Lo! I can't-"

Reacting to the desperation in her sister's voice. Lola instinctively spun around and clutched at the edges of the sink.

The mirror in front of her reflected the image of Ginny clutching at her head. She seemed to fight with herself before a furious expression overcame her face. Ginny began to curse heavily, but Lola barely recognized it.

In the mirror, a huge pair of yellow eyes rose to meet hers.


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Last chapter of year 1! Next chapter we'll explore more of the aftermath of the Chamber because I have never believed that Ginny was "perfectly happy again" and that was it. We'll get into how the chamber had affected Lola and her and Ginny's relationship as well. I hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I still own not a thing!_

* * *

Percy Weasley had been trying to ignore the sense of foreboding that had hung around him all day. But he could not shake the gut feeling that something was very wrong.

Percy cast his glance across the heads of his peers. When his searching gaze found her, he sighed in relief. Penelope Clearwater was eating dinner with a smile on her face. She seemed to be perfectly fine. She had told Percy as much when he enquired about her earlier. But one could never be too sure, especially when it came to matters of the heart.

Percy tried to shake off the feeling one again. Not even a minute later the thought was niggling at the back of his mind. But if something wasn't the matter with him or Penny, what was wrong?

He cast his eyes down the long table searching out his siblings. Percy wouldn't be one to admit it but he often sought out his younger siblings at mealtimes. He was the oldest Weasley at Hogwarts and that came with a certain responsibility. That responsibility he took his like he did everything else, seriously.

Sitting further down the table Fred and George had seemingly abandoned their meals and were laughing raucously. Across from them, Lee Jordan was attempting to avoid his hair, which had taken on a life of its own and was attempting to feed the boy roasted vegetables.

Percy's eyes moved down the table. Ron was sat across the table from his friend Harry. In front of him, his plate was piled high with food that he was shoveling in his mouth.

_Nothing wrong with him, then._ Percy mused.

At the very end of the table, Percy's eyes found Ginny. Who was shivering slightly and picking at her food. He made a mental note to ask her if she needed more Pepper-Up potion.

Percy continued looking further down the table and his eyes came to rest on... was no one sitting beyond Ginny. Alarm bells were ringing in Percy's head. He quickly wept over the people sitting at the table and came up empty. Lola was nowhere to be found.

But that didn't make sense to Percy. Lola loved food as much almost as much as Ron. There was no way she would skip dinner. And although he had noticed that Lola and Ginny had not been getting along nearly as well as they normally did, he had chalked it up to teenage angst, Lola had still been there at every meal sitting just a few feet away from Ginny.

Percy thought back to the last time he had seen Lola. Was it breakfast? No, she hadn't been there before he had left to catch up with Penny. Maybe at dinner? The night before? Percy couldn't recall.

With the alarm bells still ringing in his head, Percy stood up and strode out of the great hall, only pausing to tell Fred and George to get their siblings and meet him in the entrance hall, this was an emergency.

Soon, a Weasley sibling meeting -with the addition of Harry who Ron had dragged along with him- was taking place in the entrance hall.

"What's the problem-" Fred began

"Illustrious older brother of ours?" George finished

"When was the last time any of you have seen Lola?"

Percy watched as they searched their memories.

An uncharacteristically serious expression came over the twins' faces

"We haven't seen her since lunch yesterday."

"Didn't you see her this morning Ginny?" Ron asked

Ginny hugged herself as she shivered.

"No. We- I think we got into a fight. I didn't see her this morning."

"What do you mean you _think_ you got in a fight?"

But Ginny had shrunk away from Ron and was now burrowing into Percy's side.

"Enough of that. We'll just go and see if she's in her room. Maybe she isn't feeling well."

As much as Percy wanted to believe in his own words, something told him they wouldn't find her there.

* * *

"She's not in there!"

Ginny had come flying down the girl's staircase on the verge of tears. And thrown herself at Ron

"Ginny! Don't cry!" Ron gingerly patted his unusually fragile sister on the back. "Did you check the loo?'' Ginny wailed louder nodded affirmatively.

Fred and George looked at each other. With a sinking feeling in their stomachs, they knew it was time to pull out the big stops.

"Why don't you all go and tell McGonagall she and Dumbledor can probably find her in a minute."

Percy nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that's a good plan. With any luck, she might have just gone for a walk around the grounds. We should ask Hagrid too, he might have seen her."

"Maybe she went down to the hospital wing. To see Hermione, or maybe even Colin," Harry suggested, "I've seen them talking before."

"All great plans! We've just got to stop in our dorm quickly. We'll catch up."

"Really George? Our sister is missing and you two are going off galavanting?"

George glared at Percy as Ginny cried harder at the word missing.

"We're not going off, Perce. Just need to get something and we'll catch up."

With that, Fred and George up the staircase.

After rummaging through his trunk, Fred emerged with an old bit of parchment clutched in his hand.

"She'll be on here, right?" Fred was nervous, none of his usual confidence appearing.

"If she's in the castle, she'll show up." George tried to reassure him. He pointed his wand at the parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

* * *

Ron looked sharply at Harry over Ginny's head.

What was Lola doing in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?

"How do you know she's there?" Percy questioned.

The twins had caught up with them on the fourth floor claiming that Lola was in the girls' bathroom on the first floor. How did they know? Ron couldn't tell you. But if Lola really was in _that _bathroom...he didn't even want to entertain the thought.

"Trade secret." The twins chorused, "But trust us, she's there."

Ron didn't need any more assurances. He took off at a run down the stairs. That bathroom was much too connected to all of the Chamber mess.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom had flooded again and the out of order sign was still posted on the door. Water pooled around Ron's shoes as he pushed his way into the bathroom. He prayed he would find Lola simply using the loo.

Lola was frozen stiff looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was piled on top of her head as usual with curls escaping at random. Her dark skin had taken on an unnatural gray cast that made her look like a statue. Her eyes were wide and her mouth opened as she clutched at the sink.

"Oh no! Not LoLo!" Ginny had dissolved into tears again.

Ron swallowed against the lump in his throat.

* * *

"GINNY!" Lola shouted as she came to.

"Please Miss Weasley," Madam Pomfrey reprimanded sharply, "I do have other patients. Please refrain from shouting."

"But you don't understand! My sister...she's in danger! I need to tell Professor D-"

Madam Pomfrey's eyes softened as she ran a soothing hand over Lola's head.

"Don't worry child. Everything has been taken care of, your sister is safe."

"You're sure? Because-"

"Yes. And you can go and see her and your parents as soon as you take this calming draught. There we go."

Later, after the hospital wing had been emptied of formally petrified students, cats and ghosts and her parents had flooed home, Lola turned to Ginny. She had refused to leave her side, refused to let go of her hand, since the moment she saw her. After having convinced Madam Pomfrey that she was not going to leave her sister's side, they were finally alone.

"Gin, what happened?"

Ginny's eyes filled with tears and she buried her head in her hands. Lola climbed up into the bed with her and wrapped her arms around her sister.

"I'm not mad at you. I could tell that something was... off. I just...I just wanted my sister back."

Ginny sobbed for the next ten minutes. Lola laid by her side and rubbed her back. It wasn't often that moments like this happened between them, but sometimes you really just needed a good cry.

"I- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Lola! I couldn't... I couldn't control-" A fresh wave of tears interrupted Ginny.

Handing her sister the glass of water on the bedside table, Lola resumed rubbing her back.

"It's ok Gin. Why don't you just start from the beginning?"

And Ginny did.

"His name was Tom Riddle."

* * *

Lola had never been gladder to have exams be canceled. Missing over four and a half months of schoolwork had put her massively behind her peers. She had lost her top of year marks and was determined to get them back up, lest she lose out to Prudence Bulstrode of all people.

Ginny had it much worse though. After almost a year of being possessed she had very few memories of the content, she learned in class. Although the memories were slowly coming back, there was still a lot to make up for.

The rest of the term passed in a blaze of sunlight, studying and dreamless sleep potions. Lola finally had the time to show Ginny her secret room and the two spent many afternoons studying in the privacy of the room. Fred and George had taken to teaching the girls all of the secret passageways into and out of the school with the help of their 'Marauders Map'. Lola suspected that all her brothers, not just the twins, were spending more time with the girls mostly out of guilt. They hadn't noticed Ginny being possessed for half the year and it took them a good twelve hours to notice that Lola was missing. Nonetheless, Lola and Ginny were enjoying the perks of their Fred and George tutelage. They were becoming great friends with the house-elves in the kitchens.

"I promise I'll meet you at the carriages, Ginny! I've just got to stop at the lake."

"Alright but don't take too long."

Lola hurried as she took the short cut down to the entrance hall. She couldn't leave without saying goodbye to her mer-friend, Natas.

Lola dropped three stones in the water and settled by the shore. Natas appeared in all her grey-green glory. Her dark green hair had been growing longer, Lola wondered what it would look like next year.

"Greetings, Loleta," Natas said in her native tongue.

"I just came to say goodbye. I'm leaving for the summer. I'll see you when I get back though."

The selkie girl smiled at Lola's broken Mermish. The girl was trying and that was all she could ask for.

"Thank you for thinking of me! Do not forget to practice while you are away."

Lola let out a laugh. Natas was nothing if not direct

"I will! Hopefully, I'm a much better speaker the next time you see me. Hopefully...I'll have a much better year the next time you see me."

Natas looked at her with sad eyes.

"I hope the same for you, my friend."


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: A bit of a shorter chapter this week! But stay tuned for the next chapter because things get a little wild! As always thank you for your continued support._

* * *

"What the _bloody hell _happened at Hogwarts this year."

Bill didn't raise his voice at all, which his brothers would have preferred. The deadly calm tone he had taken on belied the seriousness of the situation.

Scattered over various couches in the living room of their Egyptian apartment the Weasley boys faced off with their older brothers.

Charlie, who had ensured their privacy with a few well-placed silencing charms, raised an eyebrow at his brothers.

"Nobody has anything to say?"

The younger brothers knew better than to be the first to speak up. Ron was steadily counting the tiles on the floor in front of him. Percy's eyes were darting to each of his siblings, never landing long enough to catch someone's eye. And the Twins were uncharacteristically silent watching their hands as if they were the most interesting thing they had seen all day.

Charlie crossed his well-muscled in front of his chest and blew out a breath of exasperation.

"Let's start with you then Perce. Explain to me how one of our sisters was being possessed by _You-Know-Who_ for an entire year and the other one was petrified by a basilisk, _and none of you even noticed. _"

Percy flinched at the harshness in Charlie's tone. It was well deserved though, he had failed in his duty as an older brother. He had failed to protect them.

"I-," He began, "I was distracted by classwork, and prefect duties and... Penelope." The last word was whispered so quietly that it was a wonder that the others even heard it.

"And you two? What's your excuse?"

The Twins glanced wide-eyed at each other.

"Quidditch and pranks," they said simultaneously

Charlie turned expectantly to Ron whose ears were tinged with red.

"I was- we were... trying to solve the mystery of the Heir of Slytherin."

Bill and Charlie looked aghast at each other.

"You mean to tell me, in all of your wannabe detectives, never noticed that the Heir of Slytherin was possessing your own sister!"

Ron's face flushed entirely red as he bowed his head and slouched down in his seat.

Bill took a calming breath and counted to ten in his mind. He wouldn't get his point across if he lost his temper.

"Look, Ginny told me that it took you all over 12 hours to notice that Lola was missing-"

"And Lola told me that she had come to you all multiple times to say that something was wrong with Ginny," Charlie added.

"They're little girls. Only eleven years old. This shouldn't have been what their first year was like. They shouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of this. Lola shouldn't be constantly worried about Ginny...Ginny shouldn't-'' Bill cleared his throat and tried to swallow the lump that had formed there.

They had all heard the harrowing screams that signaled Ginny's nightmares. They had seen the dark bags that stood out under her eyes. a stark contrast against her pale skin. They had seen the haunted look she got in her eyes, sometimes it was too much for Bill to take.

Charlie clasped a hand on Bill's shoulder.

"We're not trying to say that this is any of your faults. It's not. What we are saying is that they could have _died_, and it would have happened right under your noses. Keep a better eye on them, make sure they're ok."

A long moment of silence descended on the brothers as their thoughts swirled around the events of the past year. What they could have done differently, what they would do differently.

On the other side of the silencing charms, Ginny woke with a shout.

"NO! PLEASE! I CAN'T-"

Lola hopped out of her own bed and crossed the room in a sleepy haze. It had become almost routine. Ginny would wake from a nightmare and Lola would be there to rub her back and talk her back to reality.

"It's ok, Gin. I'm here, you're ok. Tom's gone. Harry killed him, remember?"

Ginny sobbed into her sister's shoulder.

* * *

The early morning air had an enjoyable warmth that relaxed the tension in Lola's shoulders. Her legs dangled over the edge of the balcony as she looked out at the twinkling lights scattered throughout the dark city. A loud voice rose in the distance and soon was joined by several others in an achingly beautiful song.

_The muggle call to prayer._ Lola thought

Which meant the time was about 4:30 in the morning. That meant she had been awake for roughly 3 hours. That was an improvement, she had gotten about 3 and a half hours sleep before being awoken. This time by her own nightmares.

Things had gotten worse since they had gotten home from school. Madam Pomfrey had sent them home with a week's worth of dreamless sleep potion and strict instruction for their Mum to wean them off of it. Both she and Ginny were unprepared for how bad the nightmares would be.

Lola, herself, had gotten off easy. She knew that. She had adjusted rather quickly to her nightly dreams which featured large yellow eyes and oppressive darkness that made her feel like she was suffocating. Ginny on the other hand... Ginny was dreaming of the horror of Tom Riddle's mind. She had confided in Lola that he remembered things from his past, terrible, horrible thoughts, feelings and memories that chilled Lola to the core when she pressed Ginny to share them.

The sky had turned pink as the sun became closer to rising over the pyramids in the distance. A white bird with a long black beak flew across the horizon.

Lola did press Ginny to share even though the things she told her were horrifying. It was the least she could do. No one had been there to protect Ginny when she needed it, and Lola wanted nothing more than to be able to protect her sister from the horrors she had faced. Lola wished that there was something, anything, that she could do to protect others from the likes of people like Tom Riddle. However, all Lola had the power to do was listen. Ginny needed to get it off of her chest, she needed to share her burden with someone. In the dark of the night after the nightmares had abated she told Lola as much as she could remember. The girls cried together in those moments, connected on a deeper level than ever before. But in the mornings, in the light of day, Ginny and Lola had never been further apart.

Lola picked up a bit of rock and lobbed it across the rooftop. She was frustrated with Ginny and her ever-present guilt. She had told Lola that she started to remember the attacks from last year, from Tom's perspective. That had her feeling incredibly guilty for their fight and for petrifying Lola.

But Lola didn't care, she just wanted her sister back. She didn't want this distant and cagey Ginny who took every excuse to not be in the same room as Lola.

The city was coming to life below her. The store vendors were setting up shops and the streets were filled with early morning tourists who were eager to get a jump on their sightseeing. Lola wished she could feel an ounce of the carefree fun they were experiencing. Egypt had been fun so far and she was truly trying to enjoy it. But she couldn't help the melancholy from underlying her experience.

"What are you doing up here LoLo?"

Lola started. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Bill taking a seat next to her.

"Just enjoying the morning, Bill."

Bill looked at her with appraising eyes. She had clearly come up here straight from bed, judging by the messy curls that were half falling out of her bun.

"You get enough sleep?"

Lola looked away from Bill and hoped that he hadn't noticed the bags under her eyes.

"More than last night."

Bill sighed and hugged Lola to his side.

"Come on, you can help me start breakfast."


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Sorry, everyone! These last few weeks have been hectic, to say the least. But I'm back with the next few chapters written! So there shouldn't be any more long brakes. Thank you for reading my story and please let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: HP and all of its things belong to JK!_

* * *

Light sparkled as it reflected off the surface of the water and the gentle current pushed the boat along. The five boats that contained the Weasley family members floated themselves down the river at a leisurely pace giving their occupants time to enjoy the scenery around them. Lola's fingertips cooled as she placed them in the water. The water swirled around her fingers and fish rushed away from the foreign objects. Flicking her wet hand at Fred and laughing at his over the top reaction.

Lola felt lighter than she had all summer. The sun was warm on her skin and the birds were chirping - or honking rather- in the sky above them.

"Children stay close to the shore and around this area. We need to be able to see you" Her father said after their boat ride was over.

Lola didn't stick around for any additional rules, she took off along the river bank and hoped that her sister was following behind her. Ginny was not.

"I don't know why I get my hopes up." She sighed to herself.

Lola's feet sunk pleasantly into the soft sand of the river bank. She lifted a hand to block the sun as she gazed out across the river. It was then that a bird -one of the honking ones- landed in front of her.

"Oh! Hello there." Lola tried to stay as still as possible, a face to face meeting with any bird was rare and she wasn't about to scare this one off.

The bird lowered it's long beak into the river and began to drink. Lola watched, mesmerized, as two more birds joined the first. When the birds had finished drinking they lifted their white wings in unison and took to the sky.

Lola wasn't particularly superstitious, but even she wondered what having three birds land in front of you may mean. While running back to ask Bill what the birds could mean Lola fell back into the water as she tried to avoid stepping on the tail of a scorpion.

"Bloody-"

She was curious as she watched the scorpion join a line of six scorpions that were scuttling across the sand.

Three birds. Seven scorpions. Lola couldn't wait to tell Bill about this.

* * *

"Three birds, eh? What kind were they?" Bill asked between bites of his sandwich.

"The white kind, with the long black beaks!" Lola answered

"An ibis. You know the Egyptians worship the ibis, they consider them sacred birds."

"Then why would they land in front of Lola, nothing sacred about her." Ron snorted

Lola made a rude gesture towards him before turning back to Bill

"They worship them? Why?"

Bill's earring jiggled as he scratched at his ear.

"They are the sacred bird of the Egyptian god Thoth, we find tons of mummified ibises in the tombs. The scorpions though... I think I once heard a story involving the goddess Isis and seven scorpions."

Charlie, who was lounging on the blanket next to Lola, let out a booming laugh.

"And three and seven are both magical numbers. We better watch out, it looks like Lola's been chosen by the Gods!"

All of the Weasley brothers fell over themselves laughing at that, though Lola didn't see what was so funny.

"You never know boys." Her father broke in, "We've always known that Lola was special."

Lola shot a warm smile at her father, which quickly turned into a scowl as he patted the top of her head and messed up her precariously balanced bun.


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Awww. Our poor Lola has no idea what's coming for her. And don't worry folks, Lola and Ginny are about to get back on track, just a little bit longer now. Thank you as always, and please let me know what you think!_

* * *

"Mum! Mum! You gotta come see this!"

Molly watched as her daughters steadily avoided eye contact with her. She felt bad, really she did. But she was not going to subject her daughters to any more nightmare-inducing sights. Merlin knows they had enough of those already.

"You girls stay here. I'll be back in just a minute. Don't move a muscle- oh! I mean-"

Lola couldn't help but roll her eyes as her mother tripped over her words. She was tired of her family treating her like she was made of glass. It had been like this all summer, any mention of the word 'freeze' or 'stop' would have her family falling over themselves as if she was going to have a breakdown. Newsflash, she wasn't going to. She was made of tougher stuff than that. She found it mildly insulting that her family thought that any mention of her petrification would send her spiraling.

"It's a bit stupid, isn't it?"

Ginny didn't respond. Lola could see the muscle in her jaw working as she clenched her teeth and stared off into the desert.

"Fine," Lola said, "don't talk to me."

The sand slipped under her feet as she stomped away from the side of the pyramid.

"Lola! Where are you going?" Ginny called after her.

"To get water!" Lola shouted back waving a hand in the direction of the water tent.

"But Mum said to stay here!"

"Well, Mum's not here to stop me!" Lola shot back over her shoulder.

If Ginny replied it was lost in the sound of the hot wind that blew around them. The wind did nothing to improve Lola's attitude. She was hot, sticky, and absolutely tired of being treated like a baby.

The sun blazed high in the sky as Lola made her way towards the curse breakers water tent. Lola stopped to catch her breath and squinted at the tent. It was seemingly further away from her then she thought it was when she stormed off. A quick glance back showed her that the pyramid had grown significantly smaller in the distance. She could barely see Ginny leaning up against the side. She wasn't going back though, she couldn't stand the silence.

The wind seemed to be picking up around her. Sand blew across the path and the sky above her darkened. She took another glance back at the pyramid and caught sight of some camels running away from the tomb.

"Strange," Lola said to herself.

She set off again towards the tent in the distance. The sand slipped under her feet as she trudged through it. Lifting a hand to her forehead she blocked the light and judged the distance to the water tent. She was still good ways away from it. In fact, it felt like she hadn't even made any progress even though she had been walking for at least five minutes. The view around her had become tinged with orange and the blowing sand began obstructing her view.

The hair on the back of Lola's neck stood up. Something wasn't right. The air seemed to become weighted around her and Lola struggled to take a breath in.

_A sand storm!_ Lola's mind shouted at her, _Turn back now!_

Lola lifted a foot to turn around and found that she couldn't see anything. The hot sand swarmed around her cutting into her face and rubbing her skin raw.

"Ginny!" Lola called waving a hand in the air, "Can you hear me!"

But all Lola heard was the whistling sand around her.

_So this is how I die._ Lola thought to herself. _Suffocation by sand._

Lola hunkered down and tried to remember the instructions Bill had given them, should they ever be caught in a storm. Get on the ground. Cover your face. Don't breathe in the sand. The air around her felt so heavy it was a wonder she hadn't already passed out.

"Somebody, please!" She called out as sand flooded her mouth.

Lola covered her head and tried to keep breathing. Tears leaked down her face.


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: This is where things get...trippy for dear Lola. Please let me know what you think. Thank you for reading!_

* * *

Thunk.

_Ow! _Lola thought. _Did the storm end? Did I survive?_

Lola raised a hand to rub the aching spot on her head and slowly opened her eyes.

She came face to face with a pair of brown eyes enlarged by a pair of spectacles. The eyes squinted at her appraisingly taking in the features of her face.

"Habari!" The man said. Lola stared at him blankly.

"Merhaba," He tried again. Lola couldn't understand what exactly this man was trying to say to her.

"Asalaam Alaikum?" Lola's eyes flickered in recognition. She had heard That phrase before in passing at the bazaars and in marketplaces of Egypt. Now if she could only remember what it meant.

"Hello? Can you understand me?" Lola nodded her head slowly, suddenly fearful of the strange man she had met in death.

"Ah. English it is then." The man stood to his feet and leaned heavily on the wooden staff he held in his hand.

"Er... Sir? Ar-are you God? Or a God"

The mans' cackle echoed off of the stone walls of the chamber. Lola felt her face flush, her question wasn't that funny.

"Whew," he said, wiping a tear from his eye "I haven't had a laugh that good in... maybe 500 years. Granted I haven't been around another person in about 500 years either."

_500 years?_ Lola thought

"If you're not God, can you take me to him?"

The man looked curiously at her.

"To complete that request I would be required to kill you. Seeing how I am not a murderer, I can not oblige you. My apologies"

Lola looked sharply at the man.

"How can you kill me if I'm already dead?"

The man raised an eyebrow.

"What leads you to believe you are deceased?"

Lola blinked rapidly at the man.

"I was caught in a sandstorm... I couldn't breathe..."

The man took his staff and thumped Lola over the head.

"What did you do that for?" The beginnings of a headache forming under the sore spot on her head.

"Did that hurt? The dead can't feel pain, you know."

Lola's heartbeat a little faster. She wasn't dead!

The man had begun shuffling out of the chamber and through the open entrance. His staff made a rhythmic click as it hit the ground.

"But, if I'm not dead where am I!" She called after him.

The man turned and fixed her with a calculating gaze. He motioned for her to follow.

* * *

"You, daughter of Isis, have been chosen."

_Daughter of Isis?_

Lola's brow furrowed as she hurried to catch up to the strange man.

"Er... My mum's name is Molly, not Isis?"

The man looked back at her with a crooked grin

"Proverbial daughter, dear child, proverbial."

Lola was almost tripped over her feet in an effort to keep up with the man.

"You said I was 'chosen'. What have I been chosen for"

The man stopped short in front of a closed door.

"Ask not for what. Ask by whom?"

The man pushed the door open and Lola was astounded by what she saw.

The room was covered wall to wall in bookshelves. Great big lanterns of gold hung from the ceiling and illuminated the room in a soft golden glow. Large stone pillars were decorated in hieroglyphics and in the center of the room sat a large statue with the face of an ibis bird and the body of a man.

Lola was so entranced by the statute she did not notice herself moving until she bumped into the bottom of the statue.

"That is who chose you. He and another"

Lola shot the man a quizzical look.

"Who is he? And who are you?"

The man smiled and leaned on his staff,

"I am Dedi, the king's magician and keeper of the temple. Tell me you know of the God I serve?"

Lola shook her head, "We don't learn about Gods at Hogwarts."

Dedi's frown deepened the wrinkled lines that spread across his brown face.

"What has the world come to? That you learn nothing of the Gods? The ways of old?"

"I-"

"No matter, we've much to attend to and little time." Dedi interrupted.

The old wizard moved around the statue to the back of the room. Yellowed linen robes flowed behind him as he moved toward the desk. He gestured to Lola to take the chair and peered down at her.

"The God who chose you is known by many names, you may know him by the name Thoth. He is the god of wisdom and magic. Writing, science, and the judgment of the dead."

Lola blinked disbelievingly. This had to be a dream.

"You mentioned another?"

Dedi nodded. "The goddess Isis has marked you as hers, she has consented to your choosing."

If this whole thing wasn't a dream, and she really wasn't dead. What did Dedi and Thoth and Isis want with her?

"What do they want from me? I'm just a regular witch. I'm not even 12 years old!"

Dedi's cackle echoed off the walls.

"Age is not of consequence. Child, you have been chosen!"

"But what does that mean!"

_Lola? Lola!_

Lola looked up. It almost sounded like her Mum was calling her.

"Did you hear that? It sounded like my Mum!"

Dedi smiled sadly. It would be sad to sacrifice the girl's youth, but it was a sacrifice that had to be made.

Gnarled fingers reached out and came to rest on Lola's forehead. Lola felt frozen in place.

"Loleta Cedrella Weasley," Dedi began

Lola wondered how he had known her full name.

"From the hands of Thoth himself, I curse you with this gift,"

Curse? Dedi hadn't said anything about a curse before.

"The great God has chosen you himself, he does not choose wrongly. The Goddess has marked you as hers, she does not make mistakes. Lean into this curse, lean into this gift. So shall it be."

Lola found she was suddenly very tired. Her eyes grew heavy as the dull pain in her head bloomed into a full-blown headache. The last thing she saw was Dedi's brown eyes blinking at her from behind the large spectacles.


	14. Chapter 14

_AN: Hello! there's an extended author's note below! Please read!_

* * *

She felt them before she heard them. That was the first sign that something was very very wrong. Then the emotions hit her with such force that they stole the breath from her body.

Anxiety. Anger. Panic. Sadness.

The foreign feelings consumed her mind until she felt as though her head was about to split open.

"Lola! Lola! Can you hear me?"

The soft feminine voice sounded like a foghorn to Lola's overstimulated brain. Lola cracked her eyes open and was inundated with a disconcerting blur of colors. Her body began to shake as it overloaded.

"Quick! She's seizing. Turn her on her side."

The emotions spiked and Lola shrunk away from the hands that grabbed at her. Black tinged around the sides of her vision and Lola gladly welcomed the encroaching darkness.

* * *

"Lola. Lola, sweetheart it's time to wake up."

A soothing feeling of calm came over Lola as her body awakened from her sleep.

What had happened to her? The last thing she could remember was standing outside of the tomb with Ginny. She remembered being annoyed and thirsty. She had walked toward the water tent and then nothing?

"What happened?" She croaked

Her throat felt raw like she had gargled a cup of sand. A glass of water was placed in her hand.

"Open up your eyes, so you can drink dear." the soft voice said.

It took more effort than it should have for Lola to open her eyes. A dizzying blur of colors awaited her and she shut them tight not a second after cracking them open.

"Slowly now," the voice said, "Let me dim the lights. Nox."

Lola took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. She pushed past the barrage of colors and her eyesight gradually focused enough to see a pretty witch leaning over her with a soft smile on her face. The witch had golden-brown skin that was accentuated by her deep brown hair that brushed her shoulders in loose curls.

"Well hello there. Welcome back to the land of the living."

Lola took a gulp of the cool water in her hand and tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

The witch was wearing the typical curse breaker uniform but that wasn't out of the ordinary. Lola had seen loads of people wearing that uniform during this trip. What was really doing her head in was the soft yellow halo that surrounded the woman's body.

Lola's eyes were wide being the glass and she finished drinking.

"Are you an angel?"

The woman threw her head back and laughed. The aura around her pulsed and Lola felt a wave of amusement flow towards her.

"Can't say I've heard that one before. I'm not an angel, love, just the on-site healer."

As she said this she reached out her wand and sent a stream of water flowing into Lola's empty cup. Lola was not prepared to see the yellow aura flow down the wand arm of the healer and intensify as it made its way down the wand. Fading in color after the spell had finished. It was almost like she could see the magic leave this woman's body and get cast out of her wand. But that was impossible, a person couldn't see magic. Could they?

"My name is Kamala, I've been with you for the last two days-"

"T-two DAYS?" Lola coughed out choking on the water she had inhaled.

"Yes, indeed. You gave your family quite the fright. Although I assured them that you would make a full recovery."

Kamala strode over to the flap in the tent and stuck an arm out of the tent and waved it around.

"It was a wonder you could even rest with all the racket that they made."

Lola picked up on a flash of irritation as Kamala came over and took the cup from her. She sympathized with the healer, she could only imagine what a fuss her mum must have been making the last few days.

"What happened to me?"

Kamala began bringing over pillows in various sizes and dropping them on the foot of the bed.

"You got caught in a sandstorm. The strangest one I've ever seen too."

There was a memory that was just out of reach tickling the back of Lola's mind. Maybe it would explain why she was seeing and feeling things she definitely shouldn't be.

"Why was it strange?" She asked.

Kamala paused and placed her hands on her hips.

"It blew in and out in about ten minutes. That isn't too out of the norm for these parts, occasionally we get short ones. Really, the strange thing was it was so concentrated. It only affected about a kilometer of area. You, my dear, just happened to get caught in the middle of it."

Kamala's warm brown eyes regarded her with a knowing glint. She opened her mouth to say something else when the front flap of the tent burst open.

"Lola!" Bill yelled. A mix of relief, joy, and affection sped towards Lola and made her stomach turn. All of these emotions were too big, it felt like her body couldn't process them. On top of that Lola was dismayed to see a deep mustard yellow aura surrounding the body of her oldest brother.

"Quiet, William," Kamala admonished, "Do not get loud in here. I will have absolutely no problem kicking you out."

Bill shot a sheepish smile at the healer. Before plopping down in the chair next to the bed.

"I'm afraid you aren't going to be let out of mum's sight until you board the train back to school," Bill said eyes twinkling

Lola groaned remembering how she took off despite her mother's instructions

"How mad is she?"

Bill chuckled and took the small girl's hand in his.

"More worried than anything else," his face grew serious. "We all were."

Lola avoided his eyes. She began picking at the blanket with her free hand. She hadn't meant to make them worry any more than they already had been. Bill took her chin and turned her head to face him.

"Are you ok, Lolo?"

Lola felt the concern for her and she thought about the strange colors and feelings she had been experiencing.

She pasted a brilliant smile on her face.

"I'm good, Bill. Just a little stiff."

"She could do with a bit more rest then." Kamala broke in, "Help her sit up, Bill"

Sat up with a mountain of pillows behind her back Lola watched with interest as Bill readied himself to alert the rest of the family. She watched as he smiled tenderly at Kamala while thanking her for caring for his youngest sister.

"You got the best healer, Lo. Kam is ace, the best magical curse specialist we've got."

Kamala's face flushed prettily as she squeezed Bill's shoulder. Lola felt a feeling of heat flow between them and her own face flushed in response. She could not identify the heat that had coursed through her gut but she knew that it was something that was not for an 11 -almost 12-year-old- to experience or understand.

The words didn't register until Lola was dozing in a half-sleep sometime later. Magical curse. Magic. Curse. Colors. Feelings. Isis. Thoth. Dedi. Curse. Gift.

Lola sat bolt upright with a gasp.

_Merlin's saggy balls!_ She thought. _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

_AN: It's been a while huh? Please allow me to explain. The world went into a pandemic and that was an adjustment. Then I was dealing with the turmoil and trauma of being a Black woman living in America. On top of that, J.K. Rowling was acting a GOTDANG FOOL on the internet. Needless to say, it's been a rough few months. But I'm back and I am going to finish this book and the following 3, yes I said 3, volumes. But just know, over here it's Mask on, Black Lives Matter, and Trans People are real and valid! Okay?_


	15. Chapter 15

_AN: Hello! Thanks for the love on the last chapter! Tell me what you think about this one!_

* * *

Curiosity and impatience.

It was coming in waves from the other side of the room. Lola bet that it wouldn't take more than ten minutes before Ginny was asking the questions that had been on her mind all day. Ginny had been patient. She had been glued to Lola's side since she'd arrived back from the healer's tent, mostly being silent support. But now, in the dark of night, with no one around to overhear them, Ginny was about to bust with questions.

"Just say it. I can hear you thinking from over here." She could also feel her but that was another matter, altogether.

"I-" Ginny hesitated

"Just spit it out."

"You were gone." The words seemed to bust out of Ginny before she could stop them.

"Was I?"

A frustrated huff of breath sounded from the other bed. Lola wasn't trying to be coy, although Ginny might have thought she was. It was a genuine question. Had her body gone missing? Had it followed her mind to the strange room?

"Yes! When the sand storm let up I looked for you and you were gone. Poof. Just like magic."

Lola's heart warmed. Even though their relationship had been somewhat strained over summer, Ginny had still looked for her. She had still wanted to make sure she was ok.

"But when I came back from getting mum and dad you had reappeared. Poof. Just like magic. Where were you and what happened?"

There it was the big question. What happened. Lola struggled to find the words to explain. How could she describe this fantastical experience, that even she wasn't sure was real, without sounding crazy?

"I-. It's gonna sound mad. I don't-"

"Lola," Ginny interrupted," You have been listening to me cry about the memories of a madman the whole summer. You've never once questioned me or made me feel crazy or damaged..."

Ginny paused. The air was heavy with the gratitude that Ginny felt.

"I'm just trying to say that whatever you tell me I will believe 100 percent. No questions asked."

Lola was touched by her sister's support. It would be a relief for her to tell someone, and there was no one else she would rather share this...thing with.

"I thought I had died..."

* * *

"Wow. So you can see magic? Just floating in the air?"

Ginny was awed and excited. Lola's whole experience sounded a little outlandish. But she knew better than anyone that anything was possible, especially when it came to magic.

"Kind of, it's more like an aura that surrounds people and then... Shows the magic they're doing."

Lola searched for the words to vocalize the way she saw magic. But how could she? She didn't even have the words to describe it to herself.

"I don't know... it's hard to explain. You kind of have to see it to understand."

"And emotions. You can feel my emotions?" Ginny asked.

Lola thought about it. Could she actually feel what Ginny was feeling? _In a way,_ she supposed. The emotions felt like they were hanging in the air. If Lola concentrated she could sense them.

"Yes... I can get sort of an impression of them. Like right now you're..." She closed her eyes and tried to decipher the mix of emotions.

"You're excited and...amazed? Or in awe?"

"Wicked!"

Ginny couldn't help but grin. It had been scary to see Lola so out of it. If she were, to be honest, it gave her terrible flashbacks that she would have rather lived without. But coming out of unconsciousness with new magical abilities? That was too cool.

The room was quiet for a while and Ginny was slipping into sleep when Lola's quiet voice caught her attention.

"Gin?"

Ginny hummed in response

"Seeing magic and feeling other people's emotions... that's not normal is it?"

Notes of vulnerability were apparent in Lola's tone.

"Nope, it's definitely not normal."

"So we should just keep my... my- " Lola paused, "This _thing_, just between us. Right?"

"Right," Ginny agreed, "It stays between us."

Silence blanketed the room once more.

"Ginny?"

"Yeah?" Ginny's was quiet and laden with sleep.

"Thanks."

"That's alright."

"Gin?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"I love you."

"Love you too, little sis."

Lola couldn't muster up the energy to refute that statement. She fell asleep warmed by the knowledge that things between her and Ginny were finally looking up.

* * *

"And you're sure they found him, Arthur?"

Molly's voice carried through into the next room. Lola paused, a cup of hot milk in hand. When she had crept out of her room, her intention was to get some milk and then make her way back to bed. They had an early portkey to catch the next morning. But Lola had never been one to shy away from eavesdropping. The nature of being the youngest was that sometimes she got lost in the fray. But her ability to blend in and listen had come in handy more than once. Lola was sure this time would not be an exception.

"The minister's letter said that he was fine, managed to get himself on the Knight Bus."

Her father's voice was reassuring. Lola could picture him sitting beside her mother, arm thrown over her shoulder, his hand rubbing circles on her arm.

"Oh, I do hope he's ok. Those horrible relatives of his don't feed him enough, Arthur! Always skin and bones he is."

"Don't fret Molly-Wobbles. I'm sure Tom is making sure he eats more than enough."

_Tom? Tom who?_ For one horrible moment, Lola thought about the one _Tom_, who took up more space in her brain than she'd like to admit. But no, that didn't make sense. What Tom could they be talking about? The only other one that came to mind was the Tom at the- oh.

_But what is he doing at the Leaky Cauldron?_ Lola asked herself.

"Now, is everything ready for tomorrow? The portkey leaves at 7 sharp and you know we run a good 30 minutes late. Plus we have to pop to the Burrow to drop off the luggage and..."

His voice faded and Lola strained to pick up more information. With a start, Lola felt a soft feeling of affection swirl around her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on interpreting the feelings. Affection, love, and nervousness? Lola's eyebrows furrowed.

"All of the luggage is packed and the children know it's going to be an early morning. They've all found their school lists. We should be ready for Diagon tomorrow. How are we doing on money?"

_Ah. Money._

"The only issue we'll have is the new wands. We have enough to cover Ron's... we'll only have enough to cover one more." Her father's voice was quiet as he broke the news to his wife.

"Well... I suppose the girls will just have to make do with the wands that they have." Molly replied.

"But maybe if- we could ask Bill and-"

Lola shook her head. _Mums never gonna go for tha_t, she thought.

"No- I'm not taking charity...especially not from my son."

"Molly. I would feel better if the girls had working wands that chose them. With Sirius Black on the loose-"

The nervous feeling got stronger and began to push its way towards Lola. Her father was concerned about Sirius Black, which was understandable. But they would be at Hogwarts, he would have any reason to come there. Would he?

"Nonsense. They're wands work well enough. Did you see their end of year marks? Some of the highest in their year. They'll make do just fine."

Lola appreciated her Mum's confidence, even if she was slightly off. Despite being possessed and petrified, Lola and Ginny had come out at the top of their class.

The voices faded as Lola made her way back to her bed. She wasn't sure if she had cause to be worried about Sirius Black. What threat did he pose to her? However, Lola did agree with her father. After last year, it was apparent that she and Ginny needed new wands. Ginny especially.

_I'll speak to Dad tomorrow, _ She decided, _Ginny deserved a new wand. I can make do... _at least _until_ _I can find a way to get my own._

At the first opportunity she had, Lola pulled her father aside and spoke to him in low tones.

"Dad. Get Ginny a wand," Lola headed off the reprimand she knew was coming, "I know, I shouldn't eavesdrop, it's not kind or ladylike. I'm sorry for that."

She cast a glance over at Ginny, who was perched on a trunk giggling at the Twins who were goading Percy about his Head Boy status.

"But after last year... just buy Ginny the wand. I promise I don't mind, I can make do. Please."

Her father gave her a searching look. Lola stared up at him with big eyes, pleading with him.

"Alright." He said, nodding.

A wide smile spread across her face and she rushed to hug him.

"You're a good girl Lola," He said, patting her back, being mindful not to knock over her bun.

"Weasley's gather round!" Arthur called after releasing his youngest.

* * *

The throbbing in her head was intensifying. Lola sighed, moving the food on her plate around. She was certain that she would have a full-blown headache by the time dinner came to an end.

The day had been harder, much harder, than she expected. Though it wasn't her fault at all. She had not been allowed to leave their vacation home during the last week in Egypt. Her mother expressly forbade it. She was being punished, of course, for deliberately not listening. Even though her mother called it "protecting her" and "allowing her to rest". With that being the case how was Lola supposed to know that being in a crowded place would make her sick?

The trouble had started the moment she stepped foot out of the Leaky Cauldron. She had instantly been assaulted by the emotions of what felt like everyone in the Alley. It was like a brick wall of feelings had slammed into her and knocked her off-balance, literally. If it wasn't for Ginny steadying her, Lola would have keeled over. Lola couldn't even begin to describe how dizzying it was to be able to see everyone's magic. When it was just her family she managed well enough, but this? It was too much.

"Lola, take a look at Scabbers. Will you? I think he must be sick," Ron said, pulling her attention away from her plate.

"I suppose I can. Pass the cake, will you? But just know my specialty is magical creatures, not regular rats." It wasn't that Lola found regular animals to be boring or anything... She just didn't consider them as interesting as magical ones.

"The store clerk reckons he might be magical. On account of how long he's lived." Harry interjected.

As Harry slid the half-eaten cake to her Lola's memory clicked into place.

"Oh, before I forget! Here, Harry. Happy late birthday." She pulled out a chain that had been buried in her pocket all day. The tarnished gold glinted off the eye-shaped pendant as it caught the light.

"You-you bought me a present?" Harry seemed shocked as he took the necklace from her. Lola couldn't fathom why he would be so surprised. Sure they didn't know each other that well, but he was practically family. Plus he had rescued her sister and as far as Lola was concerned, an act like that deserved a lifetime of presents.

"Not just me. Ginny helped and those three pitched in as well." Lola waved a hand vaguely in the direction of her three other brothers. Ginny promptly turned a bright red and kicked Lola's foot under the table when Lola started snickering.

"I... I- thank you, really." Harry said, "I'm sorry I didn't-"

Harry glanced toward the birthday cake that he had slid her way.

"Oh, don't worry!" Lola said, feeling his embarrassment. "You'll just owe me double next year." She shot him a wink.

As he caught Lola's eye, a strong wave of gratitude, astonishment, and... happiness overtake her. The mix of feelings had Lola's eyes pricking with tears. In an attempt to cover up her sudden bout of emotion, Lola quickly pivoted the conversation.

" Anyway, sorry it was late," She cleared her throat, "SOMEBODY didn't include it with his gift. Ticked me right off too..."

"That's an understatement, cursed me out, she did. She's lucky Mum didn't hear her." Ron remarked under his breath.

Lola speared a carrot on her fork and waved it in Ron's face.

"YOU'RE lucky all I did was curse you out. Anyway, Harry, it's an Eye of Horus. It's a symbol of protection, good health, and it's supposed to ward off evil. Did I miss anything Ginny?"

Ginny returned to her bright red color and quickly shook her head before shoving a large forkful of potatoes in her mouth.

"Look, Lola, he's not even eating!" Ron was trying to feed a rather pathetic looking Scabbers bits of meat off of his plate.

"Oh, give him here."

Lola took a good look at the rat. He was certainly grey and skinny. He was rather sad looking, more than he usually was in any case. She thought it might be getting close to his time to go, though she would refrain from saying so for Ron's sake. Lola brought him closer to her and was hit by a wave feeling that made her pulse jump. That took her by surprise. Did rats even have feelings? They must have because Scabbers was terrified... and hungry. But mostly he was terrified.

"He does seem to be... a bit peaky. Give him the tonic and see if it helps. If not maybe I can ask Hagrid, he might have an idea."

Lola handed the rat back to her brother and tried to shake off the terror she felt.

The throbbing in her head bloomed into a full headache.


	16. Chapter 16

_AN: Disclaimer! Some parts of this chapter are taken directly from The Prisoner of Azkaban, I do not own those words! P.S. Longer note at the end!_

* * *

"You sure you're ok?"

Lola was leaning heavily against the cool steel of the train car. If she thought that her experience in Diagon Alley was intense, she was in no way prepared for Platform 9 3/4.

Lola felt as though her head was going to explode if she didn't find some solitude soon.

Percy, however, was leaning over her with a calculating stare. Waves of anxiousness, and a bit of concern, washed over her.

"I'm fine, Perce." Lola said through gritted teeth "Just a headache. I've got a potion in my bag."

Lola pushed herself off the wall and started toward Ginny who was waiting with Ron, Harry, and Hermione down the hall.

"Oh, good! I'll just go and see where Penelopes got off too then." Percy's voice was grating against Lola's already frayed nerves.

She threw up a hand in acknowledgment and hurried faster down the hall.

As she approached the group sharp pins of irritation and hurt attached themselves to Lola. Her headache worsened.

"Oh, that's nice," Ginny huffed.

She reached back and seized Lola's hand.

"C'mon Lo. Clearly we're not welcome."

Lola, who at that point was irritated with everyone, glared at the trio as she and Ginny stalked by them.

It only took stalking through a few more cars for the girls to realize that almost all the compartments were already full. This further soured Ginny's mood.

"Gin, I'm gonna need you to calm down. I get it, seriously I do. But I'm about to pass out over here."

Lola truly felt like she was about to blackout right there in the middle of the Hogwarts Express. Despite being around fewer people, her headache was worsening and the emotions she had picked up from the station seemed to be lingering with her.

Ginny turned to look at her and let out a curse. She leaned against the side of the train and sighed heavily.

"Sorry, Lola. I just- sometimes... Sometimes those three can make you feel like the most unwanted person on the planet and I just...school last year was already hard enough I don't want to...-I can't..."

Ginny and Lola had often had a way of communicating with each other sans words, even before Lola could pick up on others' feelings. At that moment, with one look Lola fully understood that Ginny feared being left behind again, that despite everything this year would turn out just like the last one.

Lola crossed the corridor and encircled her arms around her sister. Wincing in pain, Ginny's feelings were quite strong when she was this close, Lola comforted her sister.

"This year is going to be so much better than last year, you'll see. I won't let it be anything less than spectacular, I promise."

Brushing Ginny's red locks off her shoulders, Lola straightened up and gave her sister a determined look.

"And don't worry about those three, I'm not all that sure we want to be included in their little group. Where they go, trouble follows."

Ginny snorted, linking her arm with her sister and continuing to move down the corridor.

"Too right... But a little trouble would be fun now and then, eh?"

Lola couldn't help but chuckle,

"Come on, let's see if we can find Luna."

* * *

"Not here!" Harry said hurriedly. "_I'm_ here!"

"Ouch!" said Neville

Lola's stomach roiled as she unceremoniously dropped to sit on the floor of the overcrowded compartment.

"Quiet!"

The voice was hoarse and unfamiliar to Lola. If she concentrated enough she could get a feel of more emotions coming from the corner opposite from her.

A handful of flames illuminated the gray scarred face of an older man. His eyes jumped around the compartment as he told the group to stay where they were.

Lola couldn't help but find some humor in the situation. Where was she going to go? Between the rolling stomach and the shooting pain in her head, she could barely keep her eyes open. Lola shivered as the icy cold of the compartment crept through her body. That wasn't helping either.

The compartment door creaked as it slid open. Lola felt full of horror as a slimy, decaying hand reached out from beneath its cloak sleeve.

Lola's body began to shake before her mind was aware of it. Fear. Terror. Sadness. Grief. The emotions flowed through her body and took hold of her mind. Images of big yellow eyes swam before her eyes, and the sounds of a heavy slithering body filled her ears. Lola felt like she was drowning. The water was rushing closer and closer to her throat and soon she would be pulled under. The most frightening thing of all may have been that Lola wouldn't have minded succumbing to the growing darkness. It was much preferable to the fear and pain consuming her body.

A trembling hand clamped down on Lola's shaking shoulder and pulled her back to the room. The fog of sadness lifted, freeing Lola's lungs to breathe easier. She lifted her own shaking hand to cover Ginny's.

"Dementor," Lola whispered.

Across the compartment, Ron and Hermione were hauling a pale Harry back onto his seat. Though Lola could barely

be bothered to pay attention. Although the overwhelming sadness had left the room, a swirl of confusing emotions had overtaken Lola's sensibilities.

A loud snap caused Lola and Ginny to jump. The older man, who Lola still had not been acquainted with, was breaking a big slab of chocolate into pieces.

_Good_, she thought, _chocolate will help_.

Lola took her piece when it was handed to her. But she had to shut her mouth quickly as bile moved up her throat. Closing her eyes and fighting down nausea, Lola listened to the conversation around her.

* * *

"Hello, friends." A dreamy voice floated toward them.

And there was Luna. Her blonde hair was gathered to the top of her head and secured with her wand and her cork earrings bounced happily as she came to stand on the other side of Ginny.

"We tried to look for you when we got on the train but Lola felt sick and then... the dementors."

Luna's round eyes flashed with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"Yes... the dementor's visit was quite uncomfortable." She turned her blue eyes toward Lola and took in the smaller girls' frame.

"Were you ok? Did it overwhelm you?" Luna questioned.

Lola had the distinct impression that Luna wasn't just speaking of Lola's own emotions. Ginny and Luna began to walk ahead towards the carriages arm in arm, while Lola trailed behind them puzzling through the emotions she was picking up.

She was so lost in thought that she ran right into Luna who had stopped short in front of the horseless carriage. Or what was supposed to be a horseless carriage.

The outline shimmered in front of the carriage. Like the other magical auras she saw around her, it seemed to glow. As the horse-shaped outline moved, the aura seemed to blink in and out of existence.

"I wondered if you would be able to see them," Luna leaned against Lola's arm

"I can, sort of... it's just like an outline...I can't tell what exactly it is?"

"It's a thestral," Luna answered, a wave of pain flowed toward Lola.

"Thestrals? But how can you? Oh! Luna!"

No wonder she was in pain, not that you could tell from her serene-looking expression. She could see the creatures because she had witnessed her mother's death.

"I'm sorry, Luna. That's awful."

"It's not as bad as all that," Luna replied, waving away Lola's concern

"Are you lot coming?" Ginny stuck her head out of the carriage door.

It didn't occur to Lola until they were almost to the castle. Luna had wondered if she could see the thestrals. Luna had been concerned that the dementors had overwhelmed Lola with emotion. Luna knew.

Lola examined the girl sitting across from her. Luna was currently reading the Quibbler upside down while listening to Ginny wonder if anyone would drop from the quidditch team this year.

_How did she know?_

"I could tell you had changed as soon as I spotted you. I thought it might be wrackspurts, but I was happy to see it wasn't. " Luna said.

Lola hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud.

_Well_, she supposed, _that's one less person I have to hide it from._

* * *

Ginny took a deep breath as she paused. Beyond her, she could hear the muffled noise of the

Great Hall. Students brushed past her as they made their way to the welcome feast. Most past her without so much as a passing glance, some gave her a look of pity. But it was the one who took a double take and turned to whisper to their friends that were giving her pause.

_What did they know? Did they know what HE made her do? Would they tell everyone? Would she be-_

"Stop it, Ginny," Lola said interrupted her spiraling thoughts

Lola gave Ginny a calculating look before raising a hand to rub at her temple.

"Go ahead in Luna. We'll find you tomorrow, yeah?"

Luna bestowed the girls with a smile as she floated her way into the Great Hall.

"Now, then. Tell me what's wrong."

Lola pulled her sister to an alcove that was just off the Great Hall and looked at her expectantly.

Ginny leaned against the suit of armor that shared the alcove and sighed.

"I just... what if everyone knows Lo? What if I'm shunned or they blame me for what I did?"

Lola speared her with a sharp look.

"What HE made you do, Ginny. You were possessed and just as much of a victim as everyone else."

It was so easy for Lola to say, and Ginny wanted to believe her, oh how she wanted to believe her. But her mind couldn't seem to wrap itself around the fact that she was a victim. She should have known better than to write in that blasted diary, she should have known not to trust-

CLANG

The suit of armor shuddered as the noise reverberated throughout the hallway. Lola, who had slapped a hand against the poor armor's shoulder looked ready to spit fire.

"Please refrain from blaming yourself for this Ginny! It was NOT your fault. Beside's all anyone knows is that you were taken into The Chamber, no more no less."

For a moment, Ginny wondered how Lola could have possibly known what she was thinking, not that she hadn't always been good at reading her sister. But Lola didn't know what Ginny was thinking, she knew what she was feeling.

_That's going to take some getting used to, _Ginny thought

"I say, do leave that armor alone! Who do you think you are? Hitting it like that!" A nearby painting berated them.

"Oh stuff it!" Lola shot back.

"Listen, if anyone has anything negative to say to you, tell them to see me, Ginny," Lola said, "I'll have a jinx waiting on them."

Ginny couldn't help but laugh at how serious Lola was.

"No need, I'll have my own hex waiting for them."

Ginny felt much better at that reminder. That not only did her sister have her back, but that she could defend herself if needed.

Something steeled itself in Ginny at that moment. No longer was she a _weak little girl_, no longer was she possessed. She was strong. And she would act like it.

"Good, that's what I like to see," said Lola proudly, " now, let's go get dinner. I need something fizzy for my stomach."

Ginny paused just before Lola pushed open the doors to the Great Hall. Lola raised an eyebrow at her. Ginny closed her eyes for a moment. Then she threw back her shoulders and raised head high with a blazing look in her eye. She gave Lola a short nod. Together the girls entered the Great Hall.

* * *

Lola managed to make it through the end of Dumbledors announcements before she went to bed. By the time thunderous applause for Hagrid had ended, Lola was sure that her head was going to explode. Although she was very happy for Hagrid, there wasn't anyone who deserved the position more. At the sight of the table before her suddenly groaning with the weight of the food that appeared on it, Lola's stomach turned. No fizzy drinks were going to solve this amount of nausea.

"G-," Lola coughed in an attempt to stop her heaving stomach, "I'm going to bed, stay and eat."

Lola didn't wait to hear Ginny's reply. She set a brisk pace out of the Great Hall, only stopping to get the password from Percy. It felt as though she had been trampled by a herd of hippogriffs as she trudged through the castle. Fatigue weighed down her limbs as she made her way up the stairs.

Never in her life had she been so glad to see a bed. Never in her life had she been so glad to be alone for that matter.

Lola sent up a silent plea that tomorrow things would be more manageable for her, as she flopped down on the bed. She didn't bother to take off her clothes as she snuggled down into the cool sheets.

* * *

_AN: As I said before, we are going to see more of Ginny and how she works through the trauma of the Chamber. It never made sense to me that Ginny was just fine and happy after her first year, and I'd like to do her some justice by showing her journey afterward. We'll also see Lola really struggle with her new powers for a bit. I'm excited about the adventures that the girls are going to get into this year, so stay tuned for fun! Thanks again for reading and please don't hesitate to ask me any questions or leave me a review! - AMC_


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